Traumatized
by footballandrugbyislife22
Summary: AU NCIS High School Fic: Ziva moves to America with her siblings, Ari and Tali, to live with Gibbs, Jenny, and Abby after being sent away by her father, Eli. Anthony DiNozzo is the captain of the school Varsity Football Team, and the best athlete of the school. He used to be a popular guy who got all the girls, but a childhood event scarred him, changing him. Tiva.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Alright right off the bat you may notice if you follow my stories that this is the second in-progress story I'm doing at the same time. I really wanted to dedicate all my time to my other story, but this idea really jumped out at me, and I just really wanted to write it while it was still fresh in my mind. I'm not abandoning either story, so don't jump to conclusions. **

* * *

It was late at night when Ziva and her siblings were picked up from the airport. Her father forced Ari, Tali, and herself to live with the Gibbs's since it was getting dangerous in Israel. Already a failed suicide Hamas bomber tried to kill Tali, but tripped and pressed the button too early. Her mother was still living with Eli since she didn't want to leave Eli's side. Now they had a Mossad Officer driving them to her new home.

They pulled up in the driveway twenty minutes later to a rather large but humble home. A large American flag hung on the porch, where it connected to a beautiful green lawn. Across his house was a really big house that was nowhere near humble. It was practically a mansion with four floors and decorated glass windows. She immediately came to the conclusion that whoever lived there must be really snobby and spoiled.

Gibbs was an NCIS Agent who worked as the Supervisory Agent of the MCRT, who was married to Jenny, the Director of NCIS. They had a daughter named Abby, a really bright Goth who was very happy for apparently no reason, and a knack for Science. She had a boyfriend who's name was Timothy McGee, a wiz in computers and Math. A very interesting family to live with.

As they rang the doorbell, a very loud squeal of joy could be heard, and immediately the door swung open revealing a very perky Abby. She ran to them and brought them into a tight group hug, which did not go unnoticed by Officer Ben-Gidon Malachi, who already had his gun out. Just then Gibbs and Jenny came down to greet them, already smirking at Abby who was at the moment blabbering about all the things she did to pass the time as she waited for them, as well as introducing herself of course.

"Hi, my name is Jenny Gibbs, it's a pleasure to meet you all." Jenny said as she stuck out her hand. Ziva took it earnestly as she stepped inside with Tali, Ari, and Malachi. Gibbs too stuck out his hand to them, "Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Gibbs said. By his tone and posture, it was blatantly obvious he was a Marine, or at least a retired one. She too took it in her own hand as she noticed a dog out of the corner of her eye run to them, jumping to her. Laughing she rubbed the dog's head, a large Golden Retriever. "Hi! What's your name?" Ziva asked jokingly. "His name's Anthony! He's such a jokester all the time, but he's as loyal as a St. Bernard!" Abby squealed happily.

Tali and Ari were equally as excited to see the new dog, as they had never had a pet before. As Malachi left, they were all grouped around the dog, petting it as it licked Ziva's face. "Aaaah!" Ziva squealed happily, "Ahh! Stop-stop it!" Eventually it was too much and she gave in, giggling as it started to lick her...unmentionables. Immediately Jenny started shooing the dog away, as it started getting very awkward in the room. "Sorry about that Ziva, Anthony has a very strange relationship with any girl he meets for some reason." Jenny apologized, hiding a smile. "It's ok Mrs. Gibbs, it was actually kind of funny!" Ziva said. The room burst into laughter at the thought of it. "You can call me Jenny, Ziva." Jenny said.

The entire room's focus turned to the dog as it immediately stilled, facing towards the open front door. Apparently Malachi forgot to focus since he was allergic to dogs. What a wuss. It ran out of the front door and towards the house across the street, everyone else immediately behind. The dog came up to a very handsome young man getting out of his black SUV that just pulled up to the large house, and it went on its hind legs as it embraced the man's leg. The man was very muscular and also very tall, but a hint of danger hung around him. Reluctantly, the man scratched its head, then pointed towards the ground. As if right on cue it sat down, whimpering as contact with the man was released. He then pointed to the group that had amassed from chasing the dog, and the dog started walking back to Ziva, whining the entire way. The man then walked into the house, closing the door behind him.

Ziva, Tali, and Ari were all shell-shocked at what had just happened. As soon as that man arrived, the dog sensed it, and came barreling towards him, pulling him into an embrace. The dog followed the man's commands as if it was law, and then the man disappeared into the house. "Who was that?" Ziva, Ari, and Tali all asked simultaneously. Jenny and Gibbs shifted around nervously, trying to think of a way to explain without revealing too much. Then Gibbs spoke up, "His name is Anthony DiNozzo, he goes to your school, same grade I think too." Gibbs said. It was fairly obvious there was something he wasn't telling them, so Ari asked, "What is it that you aren't telling us? Is he a bad man?"

Immediately Gibbs spoke up, "Oh no, he is actually very kind, its just that...well you kind of have to meet him to understand." he said with a bit of pity in his voice. For a man who looked so emotionally strong, it was clear that this was hard to talk about for both Jenny and Gibbs. Without anymore questions, they all went back inside to go to sleep, seeing as how it was already 11:00 PM, and they already had dinner. Jenny showed Ziva, Tali, and Ari into a large bedroom across from Abby's room, revealing three queen sized beds inside, a closet, and clothes drawers for each of them. Each bed had a nightstand, and there was a connecting room leading to a bathroom. There were also wooden desks for each of them lying nearby, a computer on each of them.

"This is where you will be staying, so get comfortable!" Jenny said as she walked out of the room, obviously very tired. They all began to put their clothes in the appropriate closets and drawers silently, each thinking about a new life in America, but also the mysterious High-School boy they would be going to the same school they would. They were all put into the exact same classes in the exact same periods, courtesy of one Eli David. Ari was Ziva's older brother, but he was adopted, and the age difference was only by six months. Tali was Ziva's biological sister, only a year younger, but she skipped a grade so she was in the same grade as Ziva. As they finished packing, they each went to their beds: Ari closest to the door, Tali in the middle, and Ziva at the far end.

After about five minutes, they each simultaneously jumped out of bed, much to the surprise of each of them. "What are you two doing up?" Ari inquired. "I should ask you the same!" Tali and Ziva both hissed together. "I was going to ask Abby what she know's about this Anthony DiNozzo man." Ari replied, obviously wanting to ask Abby very badly. "Me too, how about you Ziva?" Tali responded. "I too want to know about this mysterious Anthony DiNozzo person. Did you two see the way the dog just jumped to him?" Ziva said. They both nodded in silence, agreeing with Ziva. They then quietly crept across the hall, knocking on the door. "Come in! I'm awake!" Abby shouted through the door.

They all walked into Abby's room, noticing not only the large amounts of skulls and other goth-related items in the room, but there was a freaking coffin in the room and no bed! Abby was sitting at her own desk, sipping on a large cup of something called _Caf-Pow, _and she was messaging someone via Twitter. "Hi guys! Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Abby asked. They each took a seat on the carpet as Abby spun her chair around to face them. "Yes Abby, we were just wondering what you know about Anthony DiNozzo, the person we saw earlier across the street?" Ziva inquired.

"Oh yeah! I know a lot about him! He's the captain of the high school Varsity football team! He's like, the top athlete in the school and Quarter-Back of the team. He used to be a really big player in middle school, he must have had a new girlfriend like, every week. We went to school together and we used to be good friends, along with McGee. He was really easygoing and a big jokester. But I don't know something happened between summer break and High School, because ever since his first day as a Freshman, he's like a completely different person. He's not social at all, he barely talks to anyone at all, spends all his time alone, and he always looks so cold and calculated. We're still friends but its just a weird kind of friendship, you know? Like we don't talk to each other at all, but he's still so protective of me and McGee. Everyone's scared of him, like he just has that vibe about him that says 'don't get on my bad side or I might kill you' kind of thing, you know? One time three of the guys on the football team tried to pick a fight with him, and he just did some crazy fighting moves or something, like he countered all of their punches and stuff. In like five seconds, they were all lying unconscious on the floor! It was crazy!" Abby fired off rapidly.

Listening to her explanation of Anthony DiNozzo made each of them more and more intrigued and curious. Based on what she said, something bad or traumatic happened to him during summer break, some really, really, bad. After thanking Abby for the information on Anthony DiNozzo, they each went back to bed without a word, each extremely mystified by the man across the street.

* * *

As Tony walked back inside the house, he couldn't help but notice the three new teenagers standing with the Gibbs's. They were each Israeli, and by the looks of it, siblings. Shaking the thought of his mind, he walked back into his house, or more like a mansion if you thought about it.

"Tony! Welcome back home! How was your combat training?" A voice rang out from the kitchen. Approaching the kitchen as he set his bag of equipment down, he smiled slightly at the sight in front of him. A man wearing a "Kiss The Cook" apron was currently reading a recipe for pancakes as he stirred the batter in a mixing bowl.

"It was great as usual." Tony responded nonchalantly. "Never missed a single shot, reloading time getting faster, and I just started learning how do defuse a vest bomb." he explained. "That's good, Tony, very good. Now can you pass me the milk?" the man asked. "No problem, Chris." Tony replied, grabbing the milk from the fridge. Chris has been his legal guardian ever since his mom was killed and his dad...became a serial killer. He could still remember that night as if it had happened yesterday.

* * *

**_WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC SCENE COMING UP! AND NOT THE SEXUAL KIND :P_**

* * *

_Flashback_

_It was a week into summer break when Tony came back home. He was at a pool party when the cops came and ended the party since apparently a dead woman's body turned up on the other side of the fence. After going through a grueling hour of questioning, he walked through his front only to be greeted with a blow to the head with a baseball bat, knocking him unconscious._

_When he woke up, he was sitting tied to a chair in the basement, his mom tied to the other chair. He was instantly scared for his mom's safety, but surprisingly not for his own. A few minutes later the door swung open, revealing his dad, Anthony DiNozzo Sr., standing with a large bloodies butcher knife in his right hand, two human eyeballs in his left. He instantly began emptying the contents of his stomach, heaving for several long seconds. After the heaving had stopped, his father moved towards him and put the knife down on a wooden table next to his mom and punched him across the face. Hard._

_"Shut the fuck up!" his father shouted. He gave Tony two more punches across the face before picking up the knife again and moving towards his mom. "Stop! Dad what the hell are you doing!" Tony screamed. We watched in emotional agony as he saw the blade of the knife make two cuts under her mom's eyes. Her eyes were wide in fear, too shocked to say anything and could only sob._

_"Dad! Please, stop! PLEASE!" Tony sobbed. His father ignored him as he then stuck his fingers into her mom's eyes, ripping them out. She was screaming as he then replaced her eyeballs with two red bouncy balls. He then took the knife and stabbed her in the middle of her chest, then dragging it down straight to her waist. At this point his mom was already dead, but Tony still kept screaming, "MOM! DAD STOP!"_

_Her guts spilled out of the large incision and onto the floor. Tony then passed out from the sheer terror and horror of it all._

_When he woke up, he was being untied from the chair, multiple police officers telling him to stay calm. His mom's body was already gone, but her organs and blood were still there. he started to sob again, screaming for his mom as he was loaded onto an ambulance._

_The police found the surveillance tape Tony's father left on the table, revealing every grueling second of the killing of Tony's mom. When Tony was brought into the hospital, there was an extensive psych analysis, revealing that he was severely traumatized from the event. From then on, Tony became a new man, one who was cold, brutal, calculated, and absolutely lost all humor and love for others. Basically, he had no emotions._

_That's when Chris came along and took him under his wing. He retired from the Navy SEAL's after hearing what happened to Tony, and immediately took him under his care. Chris was super protective of Tony, and helped him recover from his traumatic experience. By the time high-school started, some of Tony's emotions came back. Chris became a role model for him, and just like Chris was to him, he became super protective of his true friends, McGee and Abby. Granted he lost all interest in girls, being social, and other fun activities like that, he lost all of his friends, except McGee and Abby who he told he needed to be alone and didn't want to talk to anyone._

_During his time with Chris, he taught him how to defend himself, and eventually that led to combat training, weapons proficiency practice, and other things as such._

_End Flashback_

"Here's the milk, Chris." Tony said as he handed the milk carton to Chris. "Thanks, Tony." Chris replied as he poured some milk into the batter.


	2. Morning Run

Tony jumped out of bed, wide-awake at 5 AM sharp, the time drilled into his had his gun already pointed at the door, finger on the trigger. Ever since that traumatic day, he taught himself to wake up at 5 AM on school days and 3 AM on weekends, regardless of when he went to bed. He quickly got dressed in an Under Armour T-Shirt, athletic shorts, and running shoes before going downstairs to get an energy bar and a bottle of water. Today was the first day day of school of the week, and he'd be damned if he was tired for even a second of the day unless it was time to sleep.

* * *

Ziva woke up at 5 AM and quietly went to her closet to retrieve her running gear. She slipped on a Nike T-Shirt and form-fitting athletic shorts, and went downstairs. Gibbs was already downstairs making coffee. "Sorry Ziva, did I wake you up?" Gibbs inquired, feeling slightly guilty. "No you didn't Gibbs, I always go on a run at five." Ziva replied. "Ok, just be sure you're back home in time for school." Gibbs replied. "I will!" Ziva shouted as she walked out of her front door. As she closed her front door, a thought struck her. _I don't even know this neighborhood! How am I supposed to plan out a good route? _It was at that moment that Anthony walked out of his own front door, wearing running clothes and shoes, chewing on an energy bar and carrying a small backpack. _"Man does he look good in that shirt..." _she ogled as she unconsciously walked down to the street. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of said man, who was giving her a suspicious look.

Immediately Ziva started looking for an excuse, "Hi my name is Ziva! I think we're going to the same school and we're in the same grade? I just came from Israel yesterday." Ziva introduced herself as she stuck out her hand. Tony just stared at her hand for a couple seconds before taking it in his own, giving it a firm shake. He looked her in the eye as he introduced himself, "Anthony DiNozzo." Ziva just stared at him while she was trying to remember what she wanted to say. "Oh sorry, I was going to go out running but I don't know any good routes. Can I run with you?" Ziva asked in a friendly manner. Tony took a few seconds to contemplate her answer before giving a simple nod and indicating with his finger to follow him.

Ziva had always been good at running, running over six miles a day from Mossad training. So it was a surprise to her to see Tony move at the same pace as her, even going slightly faster on occasion before he realized he wasn't running alone and slowed down, much to her disdain. She had always been the best runner and had the best stamina out of anyone she trained along with at Mossad. After about twenty minutes running, a few droplets were starting to make their way onto her face, while Tony's was dry as a desert, not having expended a drop of sweat from his body. She had been so intrigued by this teenage boy that she wanted to learn all about him, so why not start now?

"Wow, where did you become such a good runner?" Ziva asked, trying to make conversation. After giving a moment of hesitation, he replied quickly, "I should be asking you the same, Ziva. Most girls I've met would've stopped and went home two miles ago. To answer your question I do certain...training. You?"

"I train under Mossad, so I run pretty much every day." Ziva replied, pleased with Tony's answer. "What kind of training do you do?" Ziva asked, prodding for answers. Immediately at the question Tony's shoulders stiffened, an action which did not go unnoticed by Ziva. Tony decided to be vague, not wanting to talk about it, "Just training." he replied blankly, signaling the end of the discussion. Soon they were a mile away from their respective houses, something Tony pointed out. Ziva decided that she wanted to test Tony, so she took off in a full on sprint, passing Tony quickly. Deciding that it had been a long time since he had some form on competition, he took off after her, and seconds later he was head to head with her, still not moving at his full speed.

To tease her, he decided to start backpedaling, and that infuriated Ziva. She urged her body to move quicker, but couldn't. After they were about a quarter mile away from their neighborhood, Tony quickly scooped up Ziva in her arms, throwing her over her shoulder fireman style. "Hey! Put me down!" Ziva shouted trying to contain her laughter. Tony ignored her as he went at a full on sprint, unfazed by the added weight on his shoulder. She was giggling the whole way as she had a perfect view of his ass. As they arrived at her house, Ari and Tali were already standing outside playing with the dog, Anthony. Immediately the dog stilled, then took off after Tony. Tony quickly put Ziva down, but not before Ari and Tali could see Tony put her down, and she was actually giggling! Quietly Tony went down on his knees, a small smile gracing his face as the dog jumped on top of him, sending him to the ground. Ziva, Ari, and Tali all bursted into laughter as the dog rapidly began licking Tony's face, tail wagging at the rate of a machine gun! After about twenty seconds, Tony picked up the dog in his arms and cradled it like a baby, much to everyone's surprise. One, the dog was huge and two, the mysterious Tony was starting to show a friendly side of himself, despite Abby's description.

Within seconds, the dog was sound asleep, shell-shocking everyone. The only thought going through their minds was how the hell he did that!? Wordlessly, Tony went up to Gibbs's house and knocked on the door, still cradling the dog in one arm. A few moments later, Jenny opened the door, already talking. "Ziva! Wow that was a quick..." Jenny trailed off at the sight of the dog sound asleep in Tony's arms who was cradling it like a baby. "Hi Tony, this is...unexpected." Jenny said, obviously shocked. Wordlessly, Tony walked inside and set the dog down on the couch, and walked out, giving Jenny a slight nod and a slight smile as he walked out. As Tony walked out he came up to Ziva who was still shocked at what had just happened. He waved his hand in front of her, snapping her out of her trance. "Tomorrow?" Tony asked, a grin on his face. Ziva just nodded, unable to form words. Tony then ran back into his house and shut the door.

Ari and Tali gave each other a quick glance, silently communicating that they definitely needed to talk to her about what had just happened. They both walked up to Ziva who was still staring after Tony. They could both tell she liked the mysterious Anthony DiNozzo, but never had they ever seen her so entranced by someone before, and they **definitely **have never seen her giggle.

"So you met the mysterious man that is Anthony DiNozzo?" Tali asked, mentally smirking to herself that Ziva was STILL staring at Tony's front door. Ari waved his hand in front of Ziva, snapping her out of her second trance that morning. She blinked a couple times before she realized what she was doing, and turned a deep shade of red, avoiding their gazes as she looked at the ground for a moment, then back at Tali. "Did you say something, Tali?" Ziva asked. Both Ari and Tali were on the verge on laughter seeing her blush like that. _"Wow! This mysterious Anthony DiNozzo brought out three things out of Ziva that we've never seen before, all in a matter of minutes!" _both Ari and Tali mentally screamed at themselves, trying desperately to contain their laughter. "I asked you if you met the mysterious Anthony DiNozzo, but obviously you have." Tali replied, which brought upon an even deeper shade of red in Ziva's face. "Yes, I went on a morning run with him." Ziva replied quickly, desperately trying to contain the blush on her face.

Ari decided he would try to embarrass her little sister further so he asked, "Ziva! My god are you blushing?" Ari asked incredulously. Immediately Ziva's face went on an even deeper shade of red, something neither Ari or Tali thought was possible as Ziva quickly stammered, "I-uh-um no! I am just flustered from my run, that is all!" Ziva replied nervously. Easily seeing through her cover story but deciding to leave her be, Tali and Ari both just gave a nod and then walked back inside, a still-blushing Ziva not far behind. The three of them walked into the kitchen to be greeted by Gibbs, Jenny, and Abby. Immediately Abby started bombarding Ziva with questions. "Hi Ziva how as your run? Is it true you ran with Tony? Did he really cradle Anthony to sleep?" Ziva took a moment to take in all her questions before replying, "Good morning to you too Abby!" Ziva said happily, still not having gotten over Tony asking her to run with her tomorrow. "The run was very good and yes I did meet Tony, and YES Tony did cradle Anthony to sleep. Do you know how he did that, Jenny?" Ziva responded.

Gibbs and Jenny were still slightly shocked to not only have gone a run with Ziva, but to have cradled Anthony to sleep. "No I do not. For some reason Anthony has a very strong bond with Tony for some reason, but we could never figure out what it was. We've had Anthony since his birth so it wasn't as if Tony ever had ownership of the dog. It's just something we've come to accept..." Jenny trailed off. All of them stood in an awkward silence before Ziva announced that she would start getting ready for school, then bolted up the stairs. Abby just smirked to herself as she went back to eating her eggs, having seen Tony carry Ziva the whole way back to the house. Gibbs and Jenny just shrugged their shoulders, going back to making bacon, while Ari and Tali were smiling to themselves at how Ziva was so obviously entranced by Tony DiNozzo.

Ziva stripped down and stepped into the shower, still smiling to herself that Tony had asked her to run with him again, which she would gladly take him up on. Tony DiNozzo, the supposedly cold-hearted High-Schooler, was starting to grow onto her. There was just an air of mysteriousness that hung around him, but she could also sense that underneath his coldness and emotionless personality, the real him still existed, whatever that was. She was convinced something terrible happened to him over summer break, and she was determined to find out what it was. And maybe ogle at him a bit while she did so.

* * *

Tony walked into his house, smiling to himself from his run with the new girl, Ziva. She was very intriguing, not to mention beautiful, hot, and sexy. It has been years since he thought of someone like that, not since that day. He definitely wanted to get to know more about Ziva, there was something about her that really intrigued him, and he looked forward to seeing her in school today. He smirked as he saw Chris making pancakes from the batter he made last night, still wearing that ridiculous apron. Apparently it was his 'lucky' apron, and he made his best food when he wore it. As unbelievable as it was, he couldn't argue with his logic. He was an amazing cook and made the best food he had ever had, but one time he left it in the dryer and tried to bake cookies in the oven, and boy was there a lot of fire. We threw it in the fireplace, and those cookies burned on for hours!

"Ah Tony! Good to see you, how was your run?" Chris greeted. "It was good Chris, I ran with one of the neighbors today, she just came here last night; she's from Israel." Tony replied, a smile gracing his face. Chris nearly dropped the piece of toast he was eating. Tony had NEVER run with anyone else before, never. He said that it helped him get his mind off of that day, and he always went alone. Immediately Chris became curious, especially hearing that this new neighbor was a she. "Glad to hear that Tony! You've never ran with anyone else before, what changed that?" Chris asked, hoping that Tony was finally seeing someone after so long. "I don't know Chris, It's just that she's new here and she doesn't know any routes, so I let her come with me." Tony replied, smiling as he remembered that moment. Chris noticed this and mentally smirked, knowing what Tony was thinking, but choosing not to pursue it. "That's good Tony. What's her name, and does she go to your school?" Chris inquired, trying to pry information about this mystery woman.

"Oh yeah, her name's Ziva. She's actually a really good runner, kept up with me the entire way. I think she mentioned something about being trained by Mossad or something?" Tony replied. Chris pondered this for a second, then it came to him. He remembered reading a dossier on Eli David, the Director of Mossad, and in it mentioned that he had a daughter named Ziva David, who was currently undergoing Mossad training. _"Wow," _Chris thought to himself, _"Haha! Man Tony's in some pretty deep shit, running with a daughter of the Director of Mossad! Never new my poor nephew had it in him! Man God be with him!"_

"Alright well I'm gonna go get washed up and then get dressed. I had an energy bar this morning so don't worry about making breakfast!" Tony shouted as he bolted up the stairs. Chris chuckled to himself as he went back to making pancakes. He put out a Styrofoam carry-out box and put some scrambled eggs in it, placing a plastic fork on top as he closed the box. Ten minutes later Tony came downstairs, lugging his backpack with him as he made his way to the front door. "Hey! Take this with you, eat it in the bus! Have to keep your energy up." Chris shouted from the kitchen. Tony quickly thanked him as he took the eggs and walked out the front door, smiling to himself as he saw Abby, one of his best friends walk out with Ziva and two other Israeli's who he could only perceive as her siblings. _"Yup, today's gonna be a good day."_ Tony thought to himself as he ran over to join them on the walk to the bus stop.


	3. Bullies, Bus Rides, and Pictures

_Previously..._

_Tony quickly thanked him as he took the eggs and walked out the front door, smiling to himself as he saw Abby, one of his best friends walk out with Ziva and two other Israeli's who he could only perceive as her siblings. "Yup, today's gonna be a good day." Tony thought to himself as he ran over to join them on the walk to the bus stop._

* * *

Tony made his way over to talk to Ziva, eating his eggs on the way. Immediately Abby perked up and ran over to him, much to the bemusement of the others. "Tony!" Abby squealed as she jumped on top of him, arms wrapped around his neck and legs wrapped around his midsection. Thankfully Tony had fast reactions, so by the time she was on top of him, he was holding his eggs above his head with one hand. "Abbs...can't...breathe..." Tony choked out. Abby jumped off him with a concerned expression on her face, "Oh sorry Tony! Are you ok?" Abby questioned, already hyper from the Caf-Pow she had that morning. "Yeah I'm ok." Tony responded nonchalantly as he continued to eat his eggs. Amused Ziva asked him, "Why are you still eating, Tony?" Trying to hide a smirk she took a piece of his scrambled eggs and threw it up so she could catch it in her mouth. Tony decided he would mess with her a bit, so he tipped the egg midair so it hit her cheek. As it fell off, he caught it in midair and put it in his own mouth. As Ziva stood there slightly shocked at seeing what just happened, Tony licked his finger and wiped off the smear of egg that got and Ziva's cheek. "I'll let you know when you can have my eggs." Tony said as he threw in a small piece of scrambled egg in Ziva's mouth that was slightly agape.

Ziva turned a light shade of pink as she walked to the bus stop with everyone else. "Tali," Ari whispered in Tali's ear, "Did you just see that? This is not the Anthony DiNozzo Abby told us about last night." Tali said, "I know what you mean. He doesn't seem so bad at all." as she glanced at Tony. As they approached the bus stop, they saw four figures crowding around another. As they got closer, Tony recognized them immediately. The four figures were the Seniors that just came last year. They were all on the Varsity Football Team; Dylan was the Middle Linebacker, Kyle was the Center, Jason was the Full-Back, and Eric was the Defensive End. The figure they were crowding around was McGee, and he was being shoved around.

"Haha McGeek!" Dylan chanted as he repeatedly shoved McGee into Jason, who in turn shoved him right back into Dylan. Kyle and Eric were standing on either side of him, laughing at him. "HEY!" Tony shouted as he dropped his eggs and stalked towards them. "What the FUCK do you think you're doing, huh!?" Tony shouted again as he got the attention of all five boys. They all turned towards Tony, the football players smirking as they let McGee fall to the ground. "Messing around with this nerd. What the hell are you going to do about it, Sophomore?" Dylan yelled back as he folded his arms across his chest, trying to appear intimidating. That's when Tony lost it, and he immediately threw two punches to his face, then kneeing him in the chest, sending him flying to the ground. Jason threw a punch at Tony, which he easily countered as he grabbed it and using his forward momentum, threw him towards the ground face-first. Kyle went to go tackle Tony to the ground, but he thrust his knee forward, catching him in the face, causing him to stumble backwards. Eric jumped on top of his back, trying to bring him down, but he threw him over his shoulder, causing him to land on top of Kyle.

Ari, Tali, Abby, and Ziva were already running over to help him, but by the time they got there, Tony was already helping McGee off the ground. "You alright McGee?" Tony asked with a concerned expression on his face as he carefully examined his face. "I'm fine Tony, thanks for helping me out." McGee said as he saw Abby barreling towards him, arms sticking out. "TIMMY! Are you ok?" Abby asked as she took McGee in an embrace. "I'm fine Abbs." McGee replied, sending a grateful look towards Tony who was picking up his leftover eggs. Ziva, Ari, and Tali were all shocked to see in person at how good a fighter Tony was, not to mention strong. "Tony, h-how did you do that?" Ari asked. He was already an eligible Mossad Operative, and not once had he ever seen such power, speed, and technique in someone's fighting. Tony simply shrugged his shoulders as he held up his eggs, "Protein." he replied nonchalantly, shoving another mouthful of eggs in his mouth. Ari, Ziva, and Tali just stood there staring at Tony who at this point was following the beat-up Seniors on the bus, Abby and McGee close behind. "You guys coming?" Tony shouted, snapping them out of their trance. They all simply nodded as they followed Abby and McGee onto the bus.

Tony took a seat in the back corner of the bus where none dared sit. The beat-up football players sulked as they plopped down in the front, earning stares from all the students on the bus, seeing their bodies bruised and battered. However, McGee, Abby, Ziva, Tali, and Ari all took a seat with him in the back, much to the surprise of the other students. Tony simply sat down and stared out the window, still thinking about that day. McGee and Abby sat next to each other in the seat in front of him, Tali, Ziva, and Ari sitting next to each other in the seat across his. Tony extracted a picture from his backpack, a picture of his mom and Tony at the movies, only a week before she was murdered. She wore a brilliant smile, completely forgetting her troubling husband, and Tony was grinning like an idiot, hugging his mom. He would stare at this picture every day when he was at home, but he just needed the extra comfort today. Today was the first day he had been happy without Chris.

Ziva noticed the tear slide down Tony's cheek, wearing a sad expression on his face. He was staring at some kind of picture, but she couldn't get a good look. Wanting to comfort him as well as see the picture, she moved over to sit next to Tony, not acknowledging her presence at all as he seemed lost in the picture. She lightly tapped his shoulder and he spun around immediately, a haunted look in his eyes. "Oh, it's just you. Is there something you need, Ziva?" Tony asked as he tore his gaze back to the window. Ziva pondered for a moment, wondering if she should press him for information, but feeling guilty for pressing him at a vulnerable moment. Eventually the curiosity won over, and she decided to ask him little by little. "Can I see the picture you were looking at?" Ziva asked, already trying to get a peak at the picture. Tony sat just staring into her eyes, looking for an explanation. They stared into each others eyes for a minute, before Tony glanced back at the photo. With a large sigh, he gave the photo to Ziva.

Taking it gently, she examined the photo. After staring at it for a couple of moments, she deduced that this was Tony with his mom at the movies, probably during summer break seeing as they were dressed in shorts and t-shirts, a bright sun shining in the back. Tony looked as if he didn't have a care in the world, just a silly and innocent kid who cared more about girls and sports than his future and school. Not wanting to make false assumptions, she looked back to Tony who was still staring at the picture. "Is this your mother?" Ziva asked as she pointed at the woman in the photo. Being snapped out of his trance, he blinked a couple times before answering with a simple "Yes." Ziva decided to take it slowly, so she waited another minute before asking another question. "When was this?" Ziva inquired, holding a steady gaze at Tony.

Tony sat there for a moment simply looking into Ziva's eyes, pondering what he could say. '_It was a week before my mother died' _or _'it was before my dad became a serial killer and murdered my mom right in front of my eyes while I sat there tied to a chair, having to watch as he brutally ripped out her eyes and gutted her.' _Nah, that would be a dick move. He quietly responded with, "A week into Summer Break, before I became a Freshman." Tony almost whispered as he look back out the window. Ziva couldn't help but feel guilty, seeing as how this was a difficult topic for Tony to talk about and she wasn't making it any easier. Still, there was something Tony wasn't telling her, and she wanted to know what it was.

McGee, Abby, Ari, and Tali all sat there pretending they weren't listening when in fact they heard all of it. This was new information to all of them, and it became obvious that something happened to his mom, and they too wanted to know. They all made a mental note not to push Tony into saying anything more, but would instead ask Jenny or Gibbs what they knew. A few minutes later they pulled into the school, ready to start the school day as they got off the bus.


	4. Ogling

The first thing Ziva, Ari, and Tali noticed as soon as they stepped off the bus were the stares they were receiving from the other students, almost as if they were aliens. They walked into the school, still trying to ignore the stares without much success. It just made things so awkward, it became borderline infuriating. Tony, Abby, and McGee had already gone to their lockers, but they couldn't, seeing as how they needed to speak with the principal first. After what felt like hours, they made it to the main office, waiting for the secretary to acknowledge them. She looked up from her computer screen with a bright smile, standing up as she held out her hand. "Pleased to meet you. Principal Vance will be right with you." the woman replied as they each took her hand in their own, giving it a firm shake. A minute later, Vance stepped out from his office, holding three sheets of paper.

"Pleased to meet you, Ziva, Ari, and Tali?" Vance said as he held out his hand to the respective students. "Here are your school schedules. As I'm sure you three are aware your father requested that you be put in the same classes, so you're schedules will all be the same. I hope you enjoy your stay here at Washington High, and wish you the best of luck." Vance said as he handed them their schedules. They walked out into the hallway, each looking at their schedules. _English, History, Gym, Math, Lunch, Science, Auto, then finally Spanish. _They each went to their respective lockers. Ziva's locker was eight down from Ari and next to Tali.

Ziva dumped her unnecessary books in her locker and shut it. When she turned around, half the people were staring at her and Tali, several ogling at them, several others looking at them with disgust. Ignoring their looks, she went to English with Tali and Ari, each noticing the looks they were recieving from the others. When they walked in, the classroom was already filled, save three desks randomly empty.

"Ah yes, I was told that I would be expecting new students today. Please, find a seat, you can call me Mrs. Smith." Mrs. Smith said as she gestured around the classroom. Getting a better look around the classroom, they were pleased to see McGee and Abby, who smiled at them. They each returned their smiles as they each took a seat. For the most part the lesson was very boring, talking about poetry and appreciation for writing. The only fun part about it was passing notes to each other, mostly talking about Tony and his beat down on the four seniors.

After class ended they all met in the hallway to share their schedules. They were all happy to hear that McGee and Abby would be with them in English, Gym, Lunch, Math, and Science. As they headed towards History class, a few of the players on the JV Football team came up to them. "Hey ladies, how about you two ditch that guy you're walking with and we'll show you a good ti-" immediately they stopped talking, then just ran off down the hall. Confused, they turned around to see Tony giving the football players he just scared off a death glare. Even though the three of them all had Mossad training, they couldn't help but feel intimidated and scared by the glare he was giving. After a few moments Tony gave them a simple nod and walked into their History class.

Pleased that Tony was on their side, they walked into History wearing big grins as they introduced themselves. Ari and Tali gave each other a wordless indication sit occupy the two empty seats in the front, forcing Ziva to sit in the back right next to Tony. Ziva hadn't even noticed the look Ari and Tali gave each other, too distracted by staring at Tony. Even though he looked completely cold and ruthless on the outside, she knew there was a great warmth deep inside him, but something was covering it up too much to show.

She scrawled a _thank you _on a sticky note and passed it to Tony. He just glanced at it before giving her a small nod, then continued taking notes. She had to admit that for someone that apparently used to not give a damn about school, he was very attentive. Even though the teacher was trying to be discreet, it was fairly obvious that Tony was his favorite. Hell, he gave the best answers in the class, it was almost as if he was teaching alongside. There was no doubt that he was smart, but it just seemed so out of character for someone like him, well minus the whole hardened exterior.

As class ended, Ziva walked up to Tony to thank him. He just nodded in reply, then walked out of the classroom. When they started gym class, she was secretly pleased that Tony was there too. Today they had to do the _beep _test, whatever that was. As if reading their minds, Tony came up behind and spoke in a gruff voice, "Get to Point A to Point B, when you hear a beep, go back. Rinse and repeat, every ten beeps you get less time. Don't get to a point in time and you're out. Pace yourselves." And with that he took up a position on one of the far ends of the gym. McGee and Abby were next to Ziva on her left, Tali and Ari on her right.

_Beep_

The first ten levels were extremely easy, only requiring a fast-paced walk. Only a really bratty looking girl got out, obviously not caring one bit about gym, and more on make-up and boys.

_Beep_

The next ten levels were a breeze, a slight jog at most, and no one in Ziva's group broke a sweat, while to her amazement, five of the girls stepped out. _Wow, Tony wasn't kidding, half of these girls in America look like they're about to quit! _Ziva chuckled to herself as the next level came.

_Beep_

By level 30, about a quarter of the class was out, two-thirds of them girls. Ziva, Tali, and Ari hadn't even broken out in a sweat, while only a small bead of sweat collected on McGee's and Abby's faces. For Computer and Science nerds, they were good shape.

_Beep_

At this point half of the class was out at level 60, barely getting a B, which was pretty sad seeing how they could get a B for such a low score. No one could get a good view of how Tony was doing considering he was all the way across the gym, but they were pretty confident he was doing fine. They were moving at a run, but nothing too hard.

_Beep_

By level 100 only about ten students remained, consisting of Ziva, Ari, Tali, Tony, and some players on the school Soccer and Football team. McGee and Abby both dropped out around level 80, and at level 100 it was starting to become difficult to get to the other side and back. The speed they were moving at was close to a sprint, and sweat was starting to collect on their foreheads. Still, they kept up, but no one had a good view of Tony.

_Beep_

It was level 130 at this point and everyone dropped out except Tony and Ziva. The students at the side were cheering them on, and unconsciously Tony and Ziva started to drift closer. By level 140 they were sprinting at full speed, not wasting a second to catch their breaths. Ziva was getting extremely exhausted, but she really wanted to beat Tony. As for Tony, he was breathing rapidly, but still doing well. At level 150 they were both about ready to drop dead, competition the only thing keeping them from flat out collapsing. At level 155, Ziva accidentally lost her balance, but before she fell to the ground, Tony slid under her to cushion her fall. The test ended with Ziva directly on top of Tony, both breathing heavily and staring into each other's eyes, lips mere inches away. The gym teacher blew the whistle, snapping them out of their trance as they quickly scrambled up, snapping them out of their trance.

"Damn!" the teacher said as he scribbled something onto his clipboard, "Ziva, where did you learn to run like that! You and Tony just broke a school record!" he practically screamed as he looked at Ziva for an answer. "Mossad." she replied as she walked over to meet with the rest of them. She had to get by several congratulations and several students asking her where she learned to run before she met up with her friends.

"Wow Ziva!" both McGee and Abby exclaimed, "Where did you learn to run like that?" they asked incredulously, probably the 20th time she had been asked that today. Before she could answer her eye had been caught by Tony taking off his shirt off and drying himself off with a towel while drinking from his water bottle. Every girl and most of the guys were staring at him, the girls with amazement and the guys with jealousy. His skin was tanned and he had most well-defined muscles Ziva had ever seen before, and that was saying something considering she used to spend every day working with other Mossad Officers in the gym mats. Not even the trainer was as ripped as him. A small trickle of water made its way down his chest, causing Ziva and every girl in the gym save Abby to lick their lips. After draining his water bottle, he grabbed a can of Axe and sprayed himself with it, then dropped it back into his bag.

Even though he was never much for showing off, he couldn't help but show off to Ziva. Internally smirking at himself, he inconspicuously flexed his muscles, dropping every single jaw in the gym. _Heh, I just realized nobody in this school has seen me shirtless in two years. _Tony thought to himself as he zipped up his gym bag, having kept up his cold and hardened exterior mask on the whole time. Even though at heart he was still the same guy he was before his mom was killed, he just couldn't manage to be happy, thus he kept up a cold and heartless personality. It wasn't like he was trying to act cool or anything, it's just that it made him uncomfortable to be anything else around people he didn't entirely trust. The only person he completely trusted is Chris, so he dropped all of his masks, but his usual silly and happy self was still scarred from the painful memories. Still, Ziva just made him feel something he hadn't ever felt before. She wore absolutely no makeup, was extremely athletic, and didn't give a damn about dressing up to impress. In his eyes, she was a beautiful goddess, not that he would ever admit that, yet.

* * *

_Lunch_

Despite their performance in gym, they still received several glares when they walked in the cafeteria. As Ziva, Ari, and Tali walked to the lunch line, they were stopped by two players on the JV football team, Ron Sacks and Brent Langer. "Oh look what we got here! Iraqi Terrorists!" Sacks shouted, earning several snickers from various tables. Immediately Ari got in his face, slowly losing his cool. "In case you haven't noticed, we're Israeli. And we're not terrorists." Ari shot back, making a fist at his side. Ignoring him, Sacks continued, "Oh Israeli terrorists eh? Whoa watch out man don't trigger your bomb vest!" Sacks shouted again, this time the entire cafeteria was laughing. Just as Ari was about to beat the shit out of him, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Tony and stepped aside. Immediately the entire cafeteria went dead silent. Not noticing his presence, Langer joined in, "Haha how many schools did you bomb already? Five?" Langer snickered.

In a matter of seconds Sacks and Langer were being held up in the air by the collar of their shirts, their expressions going from scared to downright terrified. "L-look man we were j-just kidding!" Langer shouted nervously, squirming as Tony walked over to the trash bins, still holding them up in the air. Ignoring their pleas, he threw them both in a trash bin, covering them in food and milk. Several nervous laughs came from various tables as he wheeled the two trash bins to the front door and opened them, then shoving the two bins out the door. At this point the whole cafeteria was stunned into silence. Tony walked back into the cafeteria and said "Boom," before stepping back into the lunch line. Slowly conversation resumed in the cafeteria, everyone talking about what just happened. In the span of several seconds, Ari, Tali, and Ziva developed a new-found sense of respect for Tony.

"Thanks Tony." Ari said as he extended his hand. "My name is Ari, Ziva's brother." Ari said as Tony shook his hand. Tali introduced herself as Ziva's sister, and gave a gentle hug to Tony, who just patted her on the back.

"No problem, anyone gives you guys shit just talk to me." Tony replied. All three of them nodded before filing behind Tony. Five minutes later, Tony walked to an empty table in a corner of the room and sat down, ignoring the looks of fear and amazement he was receiving. Spotting McGee and Abby sitting at another table, the three of them took seats and ate in silence, all of them thinking about what just happened.

"Why does Tony sit alone?" Ziva inquired as she sipped from her milk. "Everyone in the school is afraid of him, so he doesn't really have friends." Abby replied, already feeling guilty. A few seconds later, they all stood up and walked over to Tony's table. As they sat down, they all glanced at Tony for any signs of protest. Receiving none, they continued to eat their lunch. After a few minutes, the curiosity became too much for Ari, and he just blurted out "Where did you learn to fight?"

Even though his expression didn't change, everyone could see how he tensed his shoulders. After about a minute of awkward silence, Tony looked up to look at all of them. He hesitated for a moment before answering Ari's question. "Navy SEALS." Tony answered quietly. All of their jaws dropped, too shocked to respond.


	5. More Flashbacks

After about two minutes of utter shock, Ari finally spoke up, "Y-you have Navy SEAL training?" Ari asked incredulously. Tony only nodded his head as he took another bite out of his sandwich. "Like, ACTUAL Navy SEAL training!?" Abby exclaimed, excited and shocked at the same time. Tony just glared at her for a few seconds while he swallowed his food. After taking a long swig of his water, he simply nodded his head in acknowledgement. "B-but, how did you get that kind of training?" Tali stuttered, shocked speechless. Hell they were all shocked speechless, since Navy SEALS were known to be the best of the best in America, and to have a 17 year old kid have the same kind of training was, well, mind blowing. Tony's gaze shifted to the table, lost in thought. Why he was sharing this he didn't know, but what he did know was that that was the end of the conversation, no questions asked. "I just did." Tony replied as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Without another word, Tony stood up and walked over to his locker, leaving them even more confused and curious then they had been moments before.

The rest of the day went uneventfully, other than the discovery that Tony shared Science and Auto with Ziva, Ari and Tali. Despite multiple times to start conversation with Tony, Tony either shook his head or flat out ignored them. In Tony's mind, he'd let his guard down too easily, shared too much. Unless he was sure he could trust them, there was no way he would let his emotions show again. For too long he subconsciously craved affection, and only Chris offered that. Until today when he thought that he found it. His own emotions had gotten the better of him, and never again would he let that happen. This he swore.

As for Ziva and her siblings, well, all they did really was take notes and stare at Tony. And they did A LOT of the latter. Often times they would stare at his face, searching for even the slightest sign of emotion, to no avail. Tony brought his mask of an emotionless soldier back on, and damn was it convincing. It turns out Tony is a wiz in all of his subjects, granted without the passion Abby and McGee have, but still, he was really smart. In auto he worked on his car by himself, still making the most progress in the class. Ziva already started working with Ari and Tali on their own car, and they were making good progress. Mossad training came with the assembly of a car, so to them this was a walk in the park.

Spanish was easy for them to learn, already speaking with perfect pronunciation of simple Spanish greetings. The bus ride back home was extremely awkward, the tension in the back of the bus so blatant all the students were squished in the front, leaving a good six rows of empty seats. Everyone continued to stare at Tony who just stared outside the bus window. After a few minutes of the relentless stares Tony was receiving, Tony turned around to face them all, a gleam in his eyes that said 'don't piss me off' and sure enough, they all shied away from his gaze. As soon as the bus pulled into their stop, Tony immediately jumped up and came barreling down the aisle, shoving a few of the beat-up seniors back into their seats, earning a whimper with each senior shoved. The only thing he could think of was getting back home so he could blow off some steam at the gym.

Arriving home, Abby, Ziva, Ari, and Tali each sat down in front of Gibbs and Jenny at the kitchen island. "Hello, how was school today?" Jenny asked, sensing some of the tension already in the room. Gibbs sensed this too, so he poured himself a cup a coffee before returning his attention back to them. Ignoring the question, Ari and Ziva shifted their gaze to Gibbs and asked simultaneously, "Did anything happen to Tony over summer break?" At this question Gibbs and Jenny both stilled, casting nervous glances to all the other faces in the room. With a heavy sigh, Gibbs set his coffee cup down, preparing for a conversation he hoped to take to the grave with him. That day was one he wish he could wipe from his memory. The things he saw scarred him for life, Jenny too, which is why he developed the 'papa bear' protective instinct for his children and anyone he cared about.

"How much do you want to know?" Gibbs inquired. Immediately everyone's head's shot up, obviously eager and nervous to discover the secret of Tony's past. "Everything," they all said simultaneously. With that answer, Gibbs and Jenny regaled them with their own experience and knowledge of what happened to Tony.

_Flashback_

_"Grab your gear! Got a dead body across from my house." Gibbs barked. The three agents shot up from their desks, hauling their packs on their backs as they rushed in the elevator. Even though Gibbs could be a bastard on the outside, he truly considered these people family. There was Tommy, his SFA, who on the outside a playboy and jokester, but on the inside a huge movie-buff and loyal St. Bernard, a man he considered a son. Lisa, former-Mossad Officer that could kill someone 18 different ways with a paperclip. Deadly and stunning at the same time, Lisa was a woman he considered a daughter to him. McGregor, team computer tech with a knack for hacking into virtually anything with wires running through it, McGregor was geeky and lovable all the same, and has earned his way into Gibbs's heart as a son. Amy, the forensic scientist who takes a love for loud music and being a goth, Amy was the bubbliest and happiest person you could ever meet, a daughter in his eyes. Ducky, the Chief ME, he was a wise and caring man who could literally go on for hours regaling you about his life, he was like the grandfather to the team and a great friend to Gibbs. Jimmy, Ducky's assistant and practically a cousin to the team, his nervous ways and fear of the team is heartwarming all the same, and that is how he burrowed his way into Gibbs's little surrogate family. Finally there was Jenny, Director of NCIS in the day, and wife of Gibbs at night. Commanding yet caring, she acts as the mom of the team, a mother hen so to speak._

_As the elevator descended, Gibbs noticed Tommy and Lisa giving each other flirtatious shares, much to his dislike. With a quick flick of his hand, Gibbs headslapped Tommy, who quickly recovered with a generic 'sorry boss.' The drive to Anacostia was relatively fast, filled with constant bickering and headslaps. When they arrived at the scene, local LEO's already had the scene closed off and ready for them to investigate. One of the officers on the scene led them down to the basement where through the doorway you could see a dead blonde woman tied to a chair, eyes replaced with red balls and her intestines spilled out on the floor, a huge cut running through the middle of her abdomen. As they approached the body, Gibbs saw a teenager no younger than 14 tied to a chair facing the dead woman, unconscious._

_"What the hell were you thinking leaving him tied to the chair like that officer!?" Gibbs shouted as he ran over to the young man, already untying his ankles and wrists. The young officer looked like a deer in headlights, "Uh-uh we thought he was dead when we got h-here so w-we didn't do an-anything about it," the young officer stuttered, inwardly cursing himself for not thinking to check up on the young man. Gibbs gave him a glare which sent him bounding up the stairs. As the young man began to stir, the team relaxed a bit, glad to see that he was still alive. His eyes fluttered open as he felt someone grip his wrists, and he screamed in terror, "NO! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! PLEASE!" _

_Tommy, Lisa, and McGregor all went to the young man's side trying to calm him down as Gibbs started to untie the last binding, all while the recently unconscious boy screamed and writhed and panic. As Gibbs freed the him from the last binding, he shot up from the chair immediately and ran to a corner of the basement, sobbing and pleading for mercy and for a quick death. Sharing a confused glance with the rest of his team, Lisa slowly approached the sobbing teenager, tears of her own pricking the back of her eyes._

_"Shhh, we won't hurt you." Lisa said calmly, soothing the young man. At those words he slowly brought up his head. As his gaze shifted to the dead body, he broke down again in another round of body-wracking sobs, filling the whole house with his cries as he brought his head back down to his knees. _

_"MOM! NO!" He screamed. The rest of the team shared another confused look before the realization came to all of them. The dead woman in the chair was the boy's mom, and he had to watch her being murdered in front of him._

* * *

_As the team sat in the bullpen accompanied by half of the other agents in the building as well as Jenny, Ducky, Jimmy, and Amy, they waited for the video tape that was found in the basement to load. After a few seconds the TV flickered to life, revealing Tony and his mom both tied to the chair as a man walked into the basement, identified by Tony as his dad. They watched every grueling second as they watched Tony's father murder and butcher Tony's mom, all the while Tony was forced to watch. As soon as the video ended, every single person who was watching the video ran over to a nearby trashcan, puking their lunch out. That was a video that had scarred each and every one of them for life._

_Months passed as they learned that Tony's father became a serial killer, killing five other women in the same fashion before going off the grid. It was a case like no other, even attracting the attention of the FBI and SecNav himself. After years of constant investigation and searching, they still could not catch him. Every day Gibbs and his team worked on the case looking for even the slightest leads to no avail. This was a case that would haunt them for the rest of their lives unless they got the killer._


	6. To The Gym We Go

Ziva, Abby, Ari, and Tali all sat in a stunned silence, too shocked and horrified to even process the words for several minutes. As if a switch was flicked on, Abby started sobbing, laying her head against the chair. Ziva and Tali were in tears, a stifled sob getting out every now and then, and Ari had his fist gripped against the counter angrily, a single tear escaping the corner of his eye. Even Jenny was crying silently while Gibbs pulled her into his chest, whispering words of comfort. This went on for another ten minutes before their sobs died down to occasional hiccups.

"Why...why would his father...do something so...evil!?" Ziva screamed. Something changed inside her when she heard that story. Gone was the mere sexual attraction, and born was something deeper, something more meaningful. Tears pricked her eyes, her hands tightening around her water bottle in a death-grip. This was the kind of story that only happened on TV shows or movies, even books. But this was reality, the real world, and Tony has to carry the weight of such...trauma and grief every day of his life.

Nobody could answer her question, just weep silently, shuddering to even think about something like that. Ari threw his backpack against the wall in a burning anger. For what little time Ari knew Tony, he could tell that Tony was a good man. No, that would be an understatement. More like borderline _holy_. Ari was always a good judge of character, but Tony had him stumped. From what Abby described of him in his earlier days, he was a frat boy at heart, the popular jock at school who stared at girls more than he ate or drank water. Now Ari could see clearly why Tony changed; He was severely traumatized, having to witness firsthand his mother being butchered, by his _father_ no less. His cold and hardened exterior is a mask, and one that he has grown so comfortable and used to that it has almost completely changed him, completely wiping the _old _Tony away from his mind and body.

_Almost._

Tony still possessed the capability to trust, to love, to have emotions. The problem is that they have been buried under an array of betrayals, traumatic events, and an ocean of sadness. Ari still couldn't figure out where in the world he got SEAL training from, but he did understand why; He's afraid, afraid of not being able to protect himself, to protect others. He obviously expends his anger and sadness in his training and fighting, using it as a distraction to escape the reality of his life. With this in mind, he gestured for Ziva, Abby, and Tali to follow him upstairs.

When they got into Abby's room, she exploded. In a fit of rage, she picked up her phone and chucked it at the wall, separating it but not breaking it.

"Why, why would someone do that to Tony!? He's _such_ a good guy, no one deserves something like this!" Abby screamed as she broke down into tears again. At this point everyone in the room was running high on sadness and anger, wanting to avenge Tony but seeing no way how, and this only frustrated them further. Ari cleared his throat and gestured to Abby's phone. With a loud sniffle, Abby walked over to her phone, but not being able to put it together since her hands were shaking like mad. Ziva and Tali sat down next to Abby as they helped her put her phone back together.

"We should go over to comfort him, especially since we obviously brought up bad memories for him today at school." Ari said as he ran his hand through his hair. Ari was like the overprotective brother in the family, always making sure his sisters were safe and would tear apart anyone who would try to harm either of them. Still, somehow Tony burrowed his way into a soft spot in his heart unintentionally, seeing Tony as the brother he never had. Heh, it's only been a day and he's already seeing Tony as a brother. He sure has a way of affecting people's hearts, even when he doesn't try.

With a simultaneous nod spreading through the room, they all walked out into the hallway only to be met by Gibbs. Abby was about to explain when Gibbs cut her off, silently communicating that he knew where they were going. Stepping to the side, Gibbs let them go down the stairs and out the front door. As Gibbs made his way into the kitchen, he say that Jenny was still standing by the sink, tears streaming down her face.

Gibbs rushed to Jenny's side and pulled her into a tight hug as Jenny burrowed her face in Gibbs's chest. Tears stained the front of his shirt, but he could care less. When family is hurting, you do anything in your power and more to make it right. They stood there for a few minutes before Jenny brought her head up to meet Gibbs's gaze, soft blue eyes looking through the window's of her soul, trying to piece together what had her so worked up. Understanding what he was trying to do, Jenny quickly explained. "Do you think Tony hates us? For not being able to catch...his father?" Jenny inquired as even more tears threatened to spill, afraid of the dreaded answer she expected. Gibbs just stayed silent, knowing that the truth would hurt Jenny even more, but finding no way that Tony could not hate them. Looking her in the eye, Gibbs placed a kiss to her forehead and grazed her cheek with his thumb, wiping the tears away.

* * *

Chris opened the door to be greeted by a strange goth and the three Israeli's Tony was talking about earlier that morning. They each introduced themselves as they held out their hands, Chris giving each a firm shake before gesturing them inside.

"Hi, how can I help you guys?" Chris asked them as he poured himself a glass of milk.

"Hi, we were wondering if you knew where Tony is. We kind of wanted to talk to him." Ziva replied as she was discreetly sizing up the man. He was 6'2" and had massive muscles, like that of a body builder. He seemed to be of Italian descent, but Ziva only guessed given that Tony was Italian. He had faint scars along the side of his cheek and across his forearm. He was dressed in a casual white t-shirt and black sweatpants.

Chris gave them an inquisitive look before putting the milk back in the fridge. "You guys are the three Israeli's that moved in last night, right?" Chris asked as he fully examined them. Their red eyes and dry tear tracks suggested that they were indeed crying before they got here, the reasons beyond him.

Tali just shot him a confused look before responding with, "How did you know?" Chris chuckled softly before responding, "Eli David's kids right? Ziva, Ari and Tali?" They all nodded slowly, slightly creeped out that he knew that. "Anyway, Tony was telling me about his run this morning with you, Ziva." Chris said as he gestured to Ziva who blushed ever so slightly. "Told me your name was Ziva, and I actually ran a couple of operations with Eli back in the day. Anyway we became close and we kept in contact, though we didn't talk about anything too personal. Read his dossier one day and it said he had three kids." Chris explained as he sipped his milk again.

"Operations?" Ari asked inquisitively, confused as to how he could possibly know his father, and even more confused that he was close with him. Hell, only a couple people in Mossad were close with him.

"Oh right, where are my manners. I'm Chris, former SEAL of Seal Team Six." Chris stated as if it were nothing. Well THAT sure answered a lot of questions as to where Tony got his SEAL training.

"Wait, your Tony's legal guardian?" Abby inquired, slightly suspicious of the man, but not commenting on it.

"Yes, have been for two years." Chris said proudly, having small flashbacks to all the laughs they had together, even when he was still hurting.

"Oh, well that's cool I guess." Abby replied, her expression remaining stoic. Suddenly the thought struck him that the reason they were crying was because they learned what happened to Tony, based on the stoic look on Abby's face, but still feeling the need to double check.

"Did Tony tell you about what happened over Summer Break?" Chris asked cautiously, not wanting to give anything away. They all nodded in reply, drawing a saddened look on Chris's face.

"He's such a good kid." Chris said as he shifted his gaze to the pictures of Tony and Chris at the beach, all the girls in the background ogling them. "He didn't deserve what happened to him. He's truly an amazing person at heart, and resilient too. Never gave up when things looked like it was over for him." Chris said quietly. They all nodded in response, not trusting themselves with words in such an emotional conversation.

"Well anyway, Tony came by and said he would be at the local gym. If you leave now you should be able to catch up with him." Chris stated, glancing at the clock. "Thank you," they all said as they walked out the front door and went back to their own house. Grabbing the car keys, Ari exited the house and unlocked the spare car. Jumping in, they all drove over to the local gym as Abby gave directions to Ari.


	7. Passed Out

On a normal day Tony wouldn't strain himself so hard before combat training with Hank, a friend of Chris who trains him, but today he needed to find a release to all the painful memories brought up today, and pummeling a punching bag seemed fitting. For 3 hours straight all he did was pummel the bag, get bloody knuckles, and have several staff members ask him if he needed help, which he disregarded with a grunt.

_*Snap!*_

Okay, so maybe ferociously attacking the bag wasn't such a good idea. That was the third bag he punched off just in the last 2 hours, not like anyone would say anything. The manager kept giving Tony annoyed glares, but was way too scared of him to even **think **about saying anything. Muttering a couple expletives, Tony retrieved another bag from the manager and set it back up again. After paying for the three gym bags, he loaded them back into his car and went back inside the gym to find something else to do.

Arriving at the gym, Ziva, Abby, Ari, and Tali entered through the glass doors and into the lobby. Spotting a staff member sitting behind a desk, they all approached the man who looked busy playing some video game.

"Shalom." Ziva said as she held out her hand. Confused, the man gave Ziva a blank stare, scratching his head. He reluctantly shook Ziva's hand, not failing to notice her firm grip.

"Hi, welcome to Rocky's Gym, can I help you guys?" the man asked as he gave each of them a quick glance.

They each gave each other a quick glance before silently urging Ziva to continue, "Yes, would you happen to know if an Anthony DiNozzo is here?" At this the man burst into a fit of laughter, tears in his eyes as he smacked the desk several times, knocking over a few pens off the desk. As he fell off of his chair, he quickly sobered up and collected himself. "You guys looking for THAT guy!? MAN you guys are CRAZY!" he said as he burst into another fit of laughter. Extremely annoyed, Ziva kicked his legs out, then shoving him forcefully into the floor. "Where is he!" Ziva hissed in his ear as he pushed him a little harder into the ground. "Whoa chill, chill! Shit! He's in the weight room beating the shit out of a punching bag or something, just let me go!" the man groaned already having a broken nose. With a smirk Ziva let him go and thanked him politely, much to everyone's amusement and the man's frustration. Abby led the way towards the weight room, all of them chuckling lightly at the small show.

As they reached the weight room, they observed that all the people in the weight room had paused their activities to stare in awe at Tony, some even slowly backing away when he came anywhere near them. Tony was aggressively pummeling a punching bag, each hit making a large pop. The punches resounded throughout the entire weight room, a rate rivaling a machine gun. After a minute of watching in awe, the bag flew off of the chain, landing next to two other bags. Muttering what sounded to be an expletive, he grabbed a new bag and attached it to the post, then hauled the three bags over his shoulder.

They all stood there, unable to move as they just witnessed another explosive example of Tony's brute strength and speed. A minute later Tony came back to the weight room, completely unaware of the fact that everyone in the room was watching him, as if he was in a completely different world. As he got on the treadmill, everyone slowly resumed their activities, leaving Ziva, Ari, Abby, and Tali simply grounded to the ground, not sure if it would be a wise decision to approach Tony at the moment.

Already warmed up, Tony brought the treadmill to it's maximum speed and took off in a sprint. Despite the speed of the treadmill, Tony remained unfazed as he pushed on, sweat rapidly collecting on his shirt. After a minute of running, Tony ripped off his shirt and threw it to the side, much to Ari's amusement and to Ziva and Tali's appreciation. After another minute of sprinting, he slowly brought the treadmill to a stop, making sure he kept his heart rate steady. Grabbing a towel from his gym bag, he wiped himself down and put his shirt in the bag. As he was about to leave, Ziva quickly ran up to him, tapping his shoulder to attract his attention. Tony quickly whipped around to find Ziva staring intently into his eyes.

"Yes?" Tony inquired as he spotted Ari, Tali, and Abby approaching him as well. They each exchanged nervous glances before Ari cleared his throat, gathering the attention of everyone. He silently gestured for Ziva to speak, earning him a harsh glare. Reluctantly, Ziva refocused her gaze back to Tony, wondering if bolting out of the gym and to the car would be a good idea. Before Ziva could dwell on those thoughts, Tony abruptly cleared his throat, startling Ziva.

"Is there something you needed to ask me?" Tony asked as he eyed Ziva suspiciously. Deciding that there was no backing out of this, Ziva braced for a flurry of shouts, yells, expletives, and quite possibly several punches directed at a certain wall right next to him...

"We uh," Ziva stammered as she gestured toward herself and everyone else, "We found out about what happened to you over the summer, and erm, what happened to your mom. We are truly sorry for what your father did." Ziva quickly said before inwardly cursing Ari for making her tell Tony. Hearing Ziva's confession, Tony stiffened as memories came flooding from the deeply buried confines of the back of his mind. Memories he had worked so long to suppress, memories that no human being should have to remember. Various pictures of his mom flashed before his eyes as he slowly saw each and every picture of his mom being replaced by a mutilated version. Screams rang in his ears as he relived each and every second of _that_ day, his heart racing as he grew more and more fearful. His eyes burned as he felt tears slowly trail down his cheeks, making their way down his chest and being soaked up by his athletic shorts.

Tension rapidly built up as they all saw the pure terror and pain in Tony's eyes, clearly not the response they expected. He wasn't angry, he wasn't sad, he was in a state of shock, eyes glazed over as if he were replaying a memory over and over in his head. Then unexpectedly, he collapsed in a heap on the gym floor.

"TONY!" Ziva screamed, drawing the attention of everyone in the gym as they watched Ziva drop to the floor and cradle Tony's head in her hands, tears of her own welling in her eyes.

They all crouched beside Tony as they frantically called his name, concern streaking their features. Coming to the conclusion that he had indeed passed out, they made the decision that someone needed to call Chris. Rifling through his gym bag, Ziva desperately searched the bag for Tony's phone. After several moments, Ziva snatched the phone from under Tony's shirt and began searching through his contacts. Upon reaching 'Chris', she dialed his phone number as she followed Ari who was carrying Tony back to the car, Abby and Tali close behind.

Chris was in the supermarket looking for a carton of milk when his phone rang. With a carton of milk in hand, he looked at the caller ID. It was Tony. Eager to speak with his surrogate son, he pressed the phone against his ear as he made his way over to the car, groceries in hand.

"Hey Tony, how are you?" Chris spoke, slightly curious as to what Tony would be calling for. He should be with Hank at the moment, not on the phone.

"Hello Chris," a familiar female voice croaked, an obvious strain in her voice. Chris tried to place the voice for a moment before placing the woman as Ziva.

"Hi Ziva, is everything alright?" Chris asked, concern obvious in his own voice. Though slight, Chris could hear Ziva bite back a sob, his concern growing rapidly by the second.

"We told Tony...that we knew about...what happened over the summer." Ziva said.

Chris stopped in his tracks, the milk long-forgotten as it fell to the ground. His hand clenches the phone in a death-grip. Anger surges through his veins, but not at Ziva. No, a blinding white-hot anger boils through his veins at even the mention of that day. Over the years, Chris took to Tony like his own, and would tear apart and destroy his father if he discovered his location.

"How is he?" Chris manages through clenched teeth, already jumping in the car. Through the phone Chris can hear clearly now as Ziva lets a couple sobs out. His heart drops, scared of what might have happened to Tony.

"He-he...passed out...when we told him...we knew! It's all my fault, I should have never mentioned it to him!" Ziva practically screamed, despair clear in her voice. Chris's heart drops further, scared for Tony, more so his mental state. Chris was slammed on the gas and swerved out of the parking lot, desperate to be with Tony.

"Shh shh don't worry Ziva, it's not your fault." Chris assured Ziva. "Where did you take Tony?" Chris inquired.

"We're taking him to your house right now." Ziva stated, having calmed down slightly after being assured by Chris that it wasn't her fault.

"No, take him to your house. I'm not home right now, so I'll be over in a few minutes. Thank you for letting me know, Ziva. I really appreciate it." Chris said, narrowly dodging a cement truck.

"Okay." Ziva stated simply before hanging up.


	8. Aftermath

_Tony ran through the halls, desperately trying to escape his father. With every corner he turned, it seemed as if the cackles grew closer and closer, but Tony couldn't see him. The screams of his mother continued to ring through the maze he was trapped in. Pleas for mercy echoed in his head, they would never leave. "Why didn't you save me? I'm your mother! WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP ME!?" Tony's mother's voice screamed at him. He was in tears at this point. He tripped and ran into a wall, putting him off balance and sent him flying back to the ground. When he opened his eyes, his father was standing over him, holding the exact same knife he used on his mother, and in his right hand he clutched the head of his mother, eyes replaced by red bouncy balls and blood smeared all over her face. The head turned to him and screamed._

"AHH!" Tony screamed as he sat up, sweat dripping from his face. Gibbs, Jenny, Chris, Ziva, Ari, Abby, and Tali all turned towards him, noticing how he was drenched in sweat and fear evident in his eyes. His hands were shaking as he wiped away at the sweat. Chris was at his side in seconds, bringing him into a hug and softly rubbing his back as Tony sobbed into his shoulder, quickly soaking it. "MOM!" Tony screamed into Chris's shoulder, his voice a mixture of a dying animal and a roar from a lion. Everyone had tears brimming their eyes as they watched Tony cry into Chris's shoulder, Chris whispering comforting words into his ear. After a few minutes Tony calmed down enough to fall back asleep in Chris's arms. Chris gently lowered him back down onto the couch and draped him with a blanket. Kissing his forehead, Chris stood back up and turned to face the rest of them, tears of his own falling down to the carpet.

"Thank you Gibbs for letting Tony stay here for a little bit. I honestly don't think I could keep myself together if it were just me here. I know he needs your support, all of you guys's support, and frankly I needed it too." Chris said in a shaky voice.

"It's no trouble to us, honestly." Gibbs answered honestly, giving Jenny's hand a gentle squeeze as he forced his tears to subside. Tali finally broke down and buried her face in Ari's chest, weeping as Ari gently embraced her in a reassuring hug. Ziva plopped down onto a chair next to her, a few tears escaping and running down her cheeks.

"Would any of you like some tea?" Jenny asked politely, needing to escape the cloud of sadness that seemed to follow Tony everywhere he went. After receiving a nod from Ziva and Chris, she went back to the kitchen to prepare some tea. Gibbs followed her to the kitchen to make himself some coffee. Tali managed to calm down and slowly unwrapped herself from Ari.

"How could someone do something so inhumane do another person?" Tali asked Ari, anger coating every word she spoke.

"I don't know, Tali. I don't know." Ari repeated like a mantra. Abby had makeup running down her face, not like she cared anyway. Tony became a brother to her over the time she knew him. And it hurt all the more to know there was nothing she could do to comfort Tony the way he needed to be. Chris walked back over to where Tony slept, exhaustion evident on both of their eyes. Chris made room for himself on the couch and brought Tony into a comforting hug as the exhaustion from the events of the day finally caught up to him. As Chris dozed off, Tony wrapped his arms around Chris's torso and held him close, finding comfort in being in the presence of the man who became a father to him over the years.

NCIS

When Tony woke up again, he was slightly confused to find himself lying down in a bed, since the last time he remembered he was dozing off in a couch. As Tony surveyed his surroundings, he spotted Ziva who was sleeping on the floor, a blanket wrapped tightly around her. There were three beds in total in the room, two of them were empty. Sitting up he lightly tapped Ziva on the shoulder who mumbled in response. Tapping her shoulder again she sat up, still half-asleep. When she looked up to see who woke her, her heart skipped a beat. Tony had those deep sea-green eyes that you could get lost in for hours.

"Why are you sleeping on the floor?" Tony asked.

"I wanted to make sure you had plenty of room when you slept." Ziva responded, snapping out of her trance. Without a word Tony shifted over slightly to the side and patted an empty spot next to him on the bed. Ziva slowly rose from the floor and slid into the bed with Tony. They both instinctively wrapped themselves in each other's arms and dozed off back to sleep, Ziva's head nesting comfortably in the crook of Tony's arm while Tony rested his head on top of Ziva's. As he finally drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts were of how that was the best he had ever slept in over two years.

10 minutes later Ari walked in with Tali to go to sleep. As they spotted Tony and Ziva holding each other while they slept, they each smiled. Tali pulled out her phone and snapped a picture before pulling Ari out of the room. They both went to Abby's room to show her the picture.

"Hi guys, what's up?" Abby asked as she clicked the save button on her English homework. Tali motioned for Abby to look at the picture she had on her phone. Abby stood up from her desk and walked over to Tali.

"Awwww!" Abby cooed as she looked at the picture. Ari simply chuckled as he went downstairs to get a drink of water.

"They should totally hook up!" Tali exclaimed as she pointed at the photo again, evidence of the mutual attraction and care. Tali quickly sent the picture to Ari and Abby, then pocketed her phone, feeling very tired.

"Abby, can I sleep with you?" Tali asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Totally! We can be coffin buddies!" Abby exclaimed as she pulled out another coffin from her closet. Tali stood there in disbelief that Abby had more than one coffin. Heck, having one coffin at all was kinda weird. Reluctantly Tali lowered herself down into the coffin next to Abby's and Abby turned off the lights before dozing off to sleep in her own coffin.


	9. Flirting

Oddly enough, Tony and Ziva both woke up at the exact same time much to their amusement. They both looked down to Tony's arms wrapped around Ziva's waist. Feeling as if he were intruding, Tony quickly pulled his arms away, both of them feeling and craving the lost touch.

"Sorry." Tony said as he got up to get dressed for a run.

"Don't be." Ziva mumbled under her breath as she watched Tony leave her room. Truthfully, Ziva wanted Tony's arms back on her waist. She wanted them pulling her even tighter towards his body, acting as a protective and comforting shield. Ziva slowly slid out of bed and changed into her running clothes before running down the stairs. She was about to go grab her water when she caught a glimpse of Tony slipping out the front door. Ziva quickly ran to the front door and stuck her head out the door.

"Tony!" Ziva shouted, causing Tony to turn around, a questioning look in his eyes.

"Aren't you going to wait for me?" Ziva shouted at him as she decided to leave her water and join him in his run.

"Oh sorry, I thought you wouldn't want to run with me after last night, and this morning." Tony said as his heartbeat picked up speed, heavily anticipating an answer.

"Why would you say that?" Ziva asked, truly confused.

"Well now that you know about all the baggage I carry around, I don't know maybe you would see me as a different person, in a bad way?" Tony asked, hoping she would disagree.

"Of course not, Tony. I do see you differently, but in a good way." Ziva said with a bright smile, much to Tony's relief. "Now, lets go running again!" Ziva said and took off without him. Tony chuckled as he ran to catch up with Ziva.

NCIS

For about two weeks Tony and Ziva kept up the same pattern of going for a run with each other in the mornings. After everyone learned about Tony's secret, Tony was scared of their reactions at first. But over time he realized that they didn't see him as a monster or a freak, but just a normal person, and it made him feel more welcome into their little family. Tony started to open up to them, let his guard down and allow the playful jokester to come back out of it's shell. Everyone had to admit, while the cold and calculated Tony was pretty badass and quite frankly extremely sexy, all in all the real Tony was more enjoyable for everyone. Even Anthony seemed to be more bubbly and happy when Tony let his guard down. Tony and Chris spent a lot more time with the Gibbs's, often inviting them over for dinner paired with light and hearty banter, jokes, and stories. Gibbs and Chris both developed a strong friendship with each other, but maybe that was just a military thing.

It was a Friday and that meant game day for Tony's team. Ziva said she was going with Abby, Tali, Ari, and McGee to watch and support him, and that knowledge put Tony in a particularly good mood. It was a tradition for players to give their jackets to their girlfriends, and although Ziva wasn't actually his girlfriend, he just wanted her to wear it for no other particular reason then to see Ziva supporting him at the game, and letting everyone in the whole damn school know that she was. Tony walked out of his English class looking for Ziva to ask her if she would honor him by wearing his football jacket. Tony walked over to her locker to see her talking with Ari and Tali about something, but he couldn't tell. With jacket in hand, he walked over to Ziva.

"Hi Tony!" Ziva said brightly as she just finished her explanation to Tali of why English was an important subject in our lives.

"Hey Ziva. I was wondering if you wanted to wear my football jacket to the game tonight." Tony said nervously, but he didn't show it. As if a gunshot rang out, every single student who was in earshot of Tony spinned around to look at Tony in utter disbelief and shock, their mouths hanging so low you could fit an orange in them.

"I have my own jacket, Tony! There is no need for you to give yours to me." Ziva said with a chuckle. Ari and Tali both watched with smiles on their faces, both glancing at each other as if to say _I told you_ _so_.

"Well yeah, but there's a tradition where each player would give their girlfriends their jackets to wear to the game to show they were supporting that player." Tony said, drawing several gasps from various students at the word 'girlfriend.' Quickly realizing what it looked like, Tony quickly added, "But we can go as friends, that is, if you want to wear the jacket at all." Ziva pretended to ponder the proposition when the answer was already yes, just to tease him.

"What if I do want to go as your girlfriend?" Ziva teased, drawing several giggles from other students. Tony smiled as he put his jacket in her hands.

"Well Ms. Ziva David, that's for you to decide." Tony flirted back, and everyone in the hallway gasped in shock. Ziva turned a deep shade of red as Tony walked away, lightly blowing in her ear as he walked away. As soon as Tony left the entire hallway was buzzing with activity, gossiping with each other as Ziva turned an even deeper shade of red, if that was possible. Deciding to spare her, Tali and Ari walked to go to History class, both taking note of the fact that Ziva was furiously blushing.

Ziva quickly hid her face in her locker as she tried to hide the rise of blood she could feel in her cheeks. An everlasting smile was plastered onto her face as she put the jacket in her locker, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. _Does he actually want me to go as his girlfriend? Does he really see that in me?_

The rest of the day passed by, the entire school (teachers included!) was gossiping with one another, both completely surprised that not only did Tony show a smile, but he actually _flirted_ with Ziva. Tony DiNozzo does not flirt! (Did the planet come off it's axis?).

"OH MY GOD ZIVA! IS IT TRUE, DID TONY ASK YOU TO WEAR HIS FOOTBALL JACKET, AND DID HE REALLY **FLIRT **WITH YOU!?" Abby squealed as soon as they got home, attracting the attention of Gibbs and Jenny who waited for the answer. Ziva laughed as she turned a light shade of pink, but nodded in answer, much to Gibbs and Jenny's amusement.

"OH MY GOD!" Abby squealed as she bounced up and down like a wild child, bringing Ziva in a death-grip bear hug.

"Can't...breathe..." Ziva choked out, squirming to escape.

"Oh, sorry!" Abby apologized as she continued to jump up and down, then paused mid-jump, her eyes widening.

"Bathroom!" Abby yelled as she bounded up the stairs in a mad dash to reach that toilet seat! Ziva, Ari, Tali, and Jenny all burst into laughter as Gibbs chuckled to himself, going to the basement to work on his boat.

"How...many...Caf-Pows...did...she...drink!?" Jenny asked between laughs, the look on her face when the realization hit her just too priceless.

"Eight I think." Ari said as he regained his composure. Sensing a conversation about Tony about to occur, he grabbed Tali by the wrist and gently led her up the stairs, pulling her over to eavesdrop.

"So, Tony really flirted with you, huh?" Jenny asked. Ziva looked like a deer (or maybe a doe? Female deer?) caught in the headlights as she blushed in embarrassment for probably the fiftieth time (a record for the David Family).

"I-uh-he-uh." Ziva stammered, unsure how to answer that. Jenny simply chuckled and rubbed her hand in understanding.

"You know, I think he really likes you." Jenny said, stealing Ziva's breath for a second.

"Why do you say that?" Ziva breathed out, her heart pumping like mad at even the thought of a relationship with Tony.

"Because he treats you like you're made of glass. Because you two go out for runs together every single day of the week. Because he's at his happiest when he's around you." Jenny said, seeing the look of disbelief and hope on Ziva's face.

"But...how can he have feelings for _me_? What does he see in me that he can't find a better version of in any other of the girls at our school?" Ziva asked.

"It's because you know him for who he really is under the cold mask he wears at school, because you are quite beautiful, because he feels something different with you." Jenny said. Ziva couldn't respond as the words in her throat got caught up. Ziva was already feeling lightheaded, and this was just about thinking about a relationship with Tony (imagine how lightheaded she would feel during a kiss? Or perhaps something more...physical?).

"Trust me on this, Ziva. Just let it play out and you'll see for yourself how he feels about you." Jenny said as she went upstairs to give Ziva her privacy.

NCIS

"Hi Tony! You look good!" Jenny beamed as she let Tony come inside, equipment slung over his shoulder.

"Thanks Jen." Tony smiled as he fumbled with his car keys. "Is everyone ready?" Tony asked.

"Yup!" Ari shouted as he bounded down the stairs, Abby, McGee, Tali, and Ziva in tow. Tony couldn't help but smile at seeing Ziva wearing his jacket. Somehow it made her look even sexier than normal.

Abby, Tali, and Ziva couldn't help but ogle at how good Tony looked. His red Nike Combat T-Shirt pressed tightly against his body, each detail of his muscular body clearly depicted through his shirt, as if he were made of granite and each individual dip in his torso, arms, and legs were chiseled by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi himself (french guy who made the Statue of Liberty). Even Jenny was sneaking a quick peak here and there, much to Tony's discomfort and amusement. McGee and Ari both burst into laughter as they watched the four women ogle at Tony, said person squirming under the spotlight. Gibbs snorted as he came down the stairs, having seen for himself all the ogling done.

"You guys have fun." Gibbs said, sipping his coffee.

"Will do." Tony said as they all walked out of the house and hopped into Tony's SUV.


	10. The Hornet's Nest

**A/N: In order to appreciate a lot of this specific chapter, you should have a slight familiarity with the rules and the way American Football is played. I won't use too many technical terms though, so I hope that helps. Reviews are VERY much appreciated. Without further ado, here's the story!**

* * *

The entire concept of football was relatively new for Ziva. Not so much the rules and regulations, but the tailgating, the large salaries, and the fact that it was named football in the first place. You barely use your feet anyway! Why not call it handball or American Rugby? These were Ziva's thoughts as they arrived early to the school field where Tony had an early practice with his team right before the game.

"You guys can take the SUV wherever you want, game won't start for another hour and a half, so don't feel obligated to watch my game." Tony said as he got out of the SUV with his equipment slung over his shoulder, leaving the keys on the car seat.

"Well I think we should go get a smoothie or something before the game. How about you guys?" McGee suggested.

"I think that would be a great idea, anyone care to join?" Abby asked the rest of them. Ari nodded his assent while Ziva and Tali bit the bottom of their lips.

"I think I'm going to stay and watch Tony practice. Sorry, Abby." Ziva said. Tali simply nodded her agreement.

"That's fine! We'll be back in an hour or so. See you then!" Abby said, giving Ziva a knowing smile and a wiggle of the eyebrows. Ziva rolled her eyes before getting out of the car with Tali. Ari got out of the car and took the driver's seat, shutting the door and pulling out of the parking lot as Ziva and Tali bounded up the metal steps of the bleachers. On the field were a bunch of bags and cones to use for conditioning and warming up. The coaches stood off to the side as they waited for their players to come out of the locker room. The bleachers were fairly packed, especially considering the fact that the game wasn't going to start for another hour and a half. Ziva and Tali took their seats towards the middle of the bleachers, away from the group of cheerleaders that had situated themselves in the front. A couple of the football players that had already gotten dressed were flirting with the cheerleaders, who were giggling at practically everything they said. Ziva looked around the entire field and was impressed with the size of it. Sure it wasn't a mile high stadium or anything, but it probably could fit the entire population of two high schools combined. Convenient.

Ziva and Tali were enjoying light banter about school and Tony when said person jogged out onto the field. As he made his way over to the coaches, he ran by the section of bleachers where Ziva and Tali were. The cheerleaders immediately ignored the two football players and ogled at Tony, some even blushing at the mere proximity of his presence. Tony ignored them as he gave a quick wink in Ziva's direction, causing her to blush and making Tali laugh at Ziva's expense. All the cheerleaders went into a fit of giggles as he sent the wink, misunderstanding that it wasn't meant for them.

"You know that wink wasn't meant for you." one of the now jealous football players said to the cheerleader, all of which turned to glare at him.

"Yeah right! Who else could it be for?" the head cheerleader asked in disbelief. The football player pointed to Ziva who pretended not to be paying attention, but all the same wearing Tony's football jacket. The cheerleaders scoffed as they instantly started mentally doing a compare and contrast against her. _Do I show more cleavage than her? Should I start stuffing my bra? Is my skirt high enough? Eww she isn't even wearing makeup. _

Tony, who heard the entire thing, turned around to watch as the head cheerleader, Heather, stormed up the steps to confront Ziva.

"Wow, where did you steal Tony's jacket?" Heather sneered at Ziva. Both Ziva and Tali turned around with a questioning look in their eyes.

"Well there's absolutely **no** way Tony actually gave you **his** jacket, so where did you steal it?" Heather asked, a look of disgust on her face.

"I am not sure why you think I stole it, but I assure you he gave it to me earlier today." Ziva asked, not quite understanding the typical cheerleader personality. Heather scoffed, making sure to exaggerate it before snickering.

"Please, you expect me to believe that? There is a zero percent chance he likes anything about..." Heather trailed off as she watched Tony jog up the stairs, looking even sexier than ever.

"Hey Tony!" Heather said nervously, her legs going weak in the simple presence of him. Tony simply ignored her as he brushed past her and came beside Ziva.

"Hey sweetcheeks, glad you came! Great to see you wearing my jacket, hope you enjoy the game." Tony said as he kissed Ziva on the side of her head, sending butterflies fluttering in both of their stomachs. Tony brushed past Heather again who stood there in shock and disbelief, unable to comprehend what she just saw. Tony quickly bounded down the steps again and ran back over where the rest of his team was. Ziva smiled in victory at Heather who huffed in response, storming back down the steps, as well as sending Ziva and Tali into laughter. Making sure Tali wasn't paying attention, Ziva let the blood rush back up to her cheeks, lightly touching the spot where Tony had kissed. Tali sneaked a peak at Ziva just in time to see her lightly touch the spot where Tony kissed her. _She's so hooked on him._

NCIS

An hour of vigorous drills went by and everyone on the team had a slight layer of sweat on their foreheads. On a normal game day, they would simply do a few laps around the field and some stretching. But this wasn't your normal game. The Washington Eagles were ranked number one in their bracket right now, and most of those wins came from Tony. They were playing the District Dodgers, sworn rivals of Washington High and happened to be ranked number two in the bracket. The bleachers were filled with oceans of blue, gold, brown, and red (Blue and Gold being the Washington Eagle's school colors, brown and red being the District Dodgers school colors), chants roaring across the field. This would be the best game either school would have had for years, and they were both prepared for a hell of a game. The Dodgers more than the Eagles.

It's a known fact that since District High School is located in a more run down area of DC, drug dealing is substantially high both in the general area and in the school itself. Odds were that all the starters on the Dodgers were on steroids, meaning that Tony's team would have to rely on skill, being smarter, and of course using Tony to their advantage. The two teams lined up on either side of the field, sizing up each of the other's players. The Dodgers were a lot bigger and looked stronger, and were probably faster from all the steroids they were juiced up on. But something steroids can't give you is dedication, heart (love of the game), teamwork, and the drive to press on through each quarter going at 110% effort. And that's exactly what the Eagles had that the Dodgers didn't. Of course, having a guy with Navy SEAL training as the quarterback can never hurt either.

Being the captain of the team, Tony walked out onto the middle field to greet the Dodger's captain. He was the middle linebacker, and coaches had been scouting him for weeks. This dude was a 270 pound hunk of muscle standing at six feet, two inches. The exact same height as Tony. While the Dodger's captain got his muscle through daily steroids and heavy weightlifting, Tony worked for his muscle daily through combat training, weightlifting, and SEAL training. Tony shook hands with the Dodger's captain who sneered at him, almost challenging him to take him on. Tony squeezed his hand much harder and the Dodger's captain winced, pain shooting through his hand.

"Anthony DiNozzo, Quarterback of the team." Tony introduced himself.

"Jack Sterling, Middle Linebacker." Jack said through gritted teeth. Tony released his grip on him and turned to face the referee, a look of bemusement on his face. Jack flexed his hand a couple times before turning to face the referee.

"Call it in the air." the referee said as he tossed the coin up in the air.

"Heads." Tony said quickly, calling his pick. The coin fell into the referee's hands and he flipped it over on the back of his hand. It was heads.

"We want to receive the ball." Tony said. The referee nodded in acknowledgement. Tony and Jack went to either side of the middle of the field as the referee went to the middle. He turned to face Jack and made a catching motion, indicating to both teams that Tony's team would be receiving the ball. Shaking hands one last time, Tony and Jack both took off towards their respective teams. The rest of the team ran over and joined Tony in a team huddle while Tony spoke words of encouragement, trying to get the team fired up for the game.

"Ok, listen up people! Right off the bat, don't be intimidated by the fact that their entire team is on steroids. We push on, fight harder, punch em' in the mouth! We bring this game home for our school, we do this for the team! I will not accept defeat in this damn field, you all got me!? We enter this game as competitors, we leave as winners! You with me!?" Tony shouted to the team. Shouts and cheers of applause ran through the team and the Eagle's side of the bleachers. _Wow, did someone actually broadcast my speech? What the hell..._

Fire shot through the entire team's eyes as that very speech ran deep in their hearts, firing them up and pumping adrenaline madly into their veins.

"ALRIGHT, LETS DO THIS!" Tony shouted, receiving identical shouts throughout the team.

Ziva was on the edge of her seat, adrenaline pumping through her own veins. That speech just made her feel as if she was actually on the field. It truly was powerful, and it made Tony look even sexier... _Wow, did I really just think that? Maybe I'm in further than I thought. Or was the word deeper?_

NCIS

Tony's heart was pounding like mad as the kicker started his advance to start the kickoff. Adrenaline surged through Tony's veins in the anticipation.

_POP!_

A large thump resounded as the ball started it's ascent into the air, rapidly heading to Tony's arms. The kickoff team was in a mad dash to reach Tony, to bring him down, to hunt him down like a lion does with it's prey. The ball began to descend to Tony's arms, the kickoff team no further than 30 yards away. Concentration etched Tony's face as the ball finally landed in Tony's awaiting arms. This is it.

Tony immediately took off running towards the left side of the field, shoving one of the defenders to the ground as he missed a tackle. Running along parallel to the sidelines, Tony spotted someone directly in front of him, rapidly approaching him. At the very last moment, Tony juked to the right, completely side-stepping the defender. 50 yards away.

Tony spotted two defenders on either side of him, both taking proper pursuit angles to catch up to him. As the both closed in on him at the exact same time, Tony let loose one final burst of speed, sending the two defenders smashing into each other. And there it was, he was home free.

"Touchdown! That was truly amazing!" the announcer shouted into the mic, sending the Eagles into a united roar of cheers and hollers.

"Wow, Tony looks really good." Ziva mused to Ari, who had a much deeper understanding of football then she did.

"Good? That was amazing!" Ari shouted as he cheered on Tony. Ziva too gave into the adrenaline of the crown and cheered him on, the ball going through the goalposts for an extra point.

NCIS

It was already in the third quarter, the score a whopping 21-14. The Eagles were pulling a slight lead against the Dodgers. That is, until things started falling apart.

It was fourth and goal, Dodger's ball. Dylan was lined up to tackle the runningback, said person only a few yards away from the endzone. Dylan purposely sidestepped the runner, letting him go by and straight into the endzone. The coach immediately noticed this, and grabbed Dylan off of the field.

"What the HELL are you doing!?" Head Coach Harris shouted at Dylan.

"Sorry coach, won't happen again." Dylan lied.

"It better not!" Coach Harris shouted at Dylan before storming back to talk to the rest of the coaches about which play's to call. A few play's after, the Dodger's made a turnover after Jason accidentally fumbled the ball. The very next play, as the Dodger's runningback ran in Dylan's direction, Dylan purposely side-stepped him, allowing him to pass. The runner was then brought down by the team's safety, Hank, after the runningback passed into the red zone.

"Coach, Dylan's letting them slip by on purpose. I don't think he's faithful to the team. Probably throwing the game for the Dodger's for some drugs or something." Tony said angrily to the coach who's fists were clenched in tight balls.

"DYLAN, GET OFF THE FIELD. YOU'RE OFF THE TEAM, GET OUT OF HERE!" Coach Harris shouted at Dylan. Dylan screamed expletives at Coach Harris and stormed off the field, throwing his helmet at Coach Harris, which Tony caught easily. Coach Harris muttered several expletives, now not having anyone to replace Dylan on defense. At least, almost no one.

"Coach, you can probably switch Hank into Middle Linebacker for the rest of the game and let me have Safety. Hank's barely had any playing time since they rarely get by the linebackers." Tony suggested. Coach Harris exhaled a deep breath before nodding his approval. As Tony turned to leave, Coach Harris grabbed his shoulder.

"Son, I need you to do this for the team. I need you to drive the ball up their alley and score, then keep em' out. It's fourth quarter, three minutes left. Can you do this?" Coach Harris asked Tony.

"You know I can." Tony smirked before heading back onto the field.

NCIS

"What just happened?" Ziva asked Ari who's fists were clenched in anger.

"One of the linebackers on Tony's team must have been throwing the game for the Dodgers on purpose." Ari said through clenched teeth. Ziva's own anger started to boil.

"Why would he do that!? He's betraying his own team!" Ziva shouted angrily, holding herself back from going after Dylan herself and beating the crap out of him.

"I have no idea, but I think Tony figured it out, because as soon as he leaned over to talk to Coach Harris, Dylan was called out." Ari said, trying to control himself.

"Harah!" Ziva shouted.

Sweat dripped from Tony's face as Kyle snapped him the ball. It was a pass play. Quickly stepping back to observe his surroundings, he spotted Josh, the team's best wide-receiver wide open in the end-zone. Throwing a bomb at him to avoid any interceptions, Josh successfully caught it for the touchdown. The bleachers erupted in cheers and whistles as the Eagles took the lead. 1 minute left on the clock.

Quickly they kicked the ball off to the Dodgers, who got menacingly close on their return, managing to get 30 yards within their end zone. This would be close. The Dodgers quickly snapped the ball and handed it off to their runningback. Eric quickly reacted and brought him down before he could even get past the line of scrimmage. The Dodgers quickly snapped the ball again, going for a pass. The quarterback threw a bomb at their wide-receiver, which Tony scrambled to intercept. However, due to the sheer distance between the two, Tony was only able to stop him at the 25 yard line. The Dodgers quickly scrambled together and snapped the ball again, going for another run play. The runningback quickly maneuvered his way through the entire defensive line and all the linebackers. It was just Tony left. The runningback passed the 15 yard line as he took off in a mad sprint to get to the end-zone. Seeing his opportunity, Tony cut him off and slammed into his side, stealing his breath. The ball popped out of his hands and Tony quickly picked it up. Tony used the defensive players as shields as he bobbed and weaved through them, stopping the Dodgers from bringing him down. A wall of three players stood in front of him, leaving no room to juke or side-step them. Tony had no choice but to go head on and try to fight his way through them. With one last burst of speed and power, Tony knocked over all three players, sending them crashing to the ground as Tony stepped over them. Touchdown.

"Oh my God! That was simply amazing! He caused a fumble and ran it in for a touchdown!" the announcer practically screamed into the mic. The Eagles bursted into a thundering and ear-splitting roar of cheers.

"Final score: Eagles 36, Dodgers 21!" the announcer shouted, causing an even louder round of cheers to go around the bleachers. The entire team all ran over to Tony, screaming his name like a mantra in praise as they hoisted him up into the air. Against all odds, they beat their rivals.

NCIS

Dylan's fists clenched in fury as he watched Tony run the fumble in for a touchdown. Dylan had heard everything Tony had said to Coach Harris, and every word of it was true, and now he was kicked off the team, his only real chance to get a scholarship. Dylan screamed in anger as he kicked a trash bin several times, spilling its contents. _I'm going to get my fucking revenge! I'm going to kill him if it's the last damn thing I do! I fucking SWEAR this!_


	11. Football Practice, Part 1

**IMPORTANT! If you absolutely do NOT understand American Football, I STRONGLY suggest you watch this quick 3-minute Youtube video, where the game will be explained enough to give you a basic understanding, or at least enough to understand the last chapter, and future chapters to come! (Copy and paste the following set of letters at the end of the Youtube homepage URL. Or you could always check out my PROFILE where I have the full URL's to the video, as well as other football video's if you want an in-depth understanding of the game, and can then FULLY appreciate Chapter 10 and future chapters where I will be writing more football games, but only one or two more).**

**/watch?v=Pr7Pu-Zw0Ow  
**

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Tony walked off of the field, his shirt soaked in his own sweat. He felt pride swell in himself not because he won the game for the school, but because he won the game for Ziva. Every bead of sweat he released, every ounce of energy he expended on the field, it was all for Ziva. Every time he scored, Tony would search the bleachers to see Ziva's ecstatic face filled with joy and energy, and that only made him stronger. In a way, Ziva completed him.

Ziva, Ari, Abby, McGee, and Tali were all talking by the SUV, obviously excited over the win. Abby was the first one to spot him, and immediately jumped into his arms to give him a massive bear hug.

"TONYYY!" Abby squealed, then suddenly jumped out of his arms.

"Ewwww, you're so sweaty." Abby said, scrunching up her nose. In Ziva's opinion, it just made him look better. It was proof that he worked hard to accomplish a goal, that he put forth all his effort, and that was a quality Ziva hadn't seen in many people. Plus the fact that the shirt was drenched made his rock-hard abs visible. _Wow, you look amazing..._

Everyone turned to Ziva with an amused expression on their faces. Tony's face started to redden slightly, but one could blame that on the intense game he just dominated. Ziva furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, unsure as to why everyone was staring at her. Then it was Tony to break the silence.

"E sei bellissima (And you're beautiful)." Tony said with a pointed look at Ziva. Everyone else furrowed their eyebrows in confusion, not knowing the Italian language. Ziva's face reddened as she cast her glance to the ground for a moment in embarrassment. _Harah! I said that out loud!_

"What'd you say, Tony?" McGee inquired. Tony simply gave McGee a look, telling him that he wasn't going to spill.

"You played amazingly tonight, Tony." Ari congratulated Tony as he patted his shoulder.

"Did you expect anything less?" Tony asked, cocking his eyebrow up. Ari simply laughed, squeezing his shoulder to tell him that he didn't. Out of the corner of his eye Tony spotted Dylan watching them with a hateful glare. Upon noticing his gaze, Dylan quickly retreated to his car and drove away, tires screeching as he made a sharp turn.

"Who was that?" Tali asked, having too noticed that he was staring at them.

"Dylan, our Middle Linebacker. Coach kicked him off for feeding the Dodgers points. I personally think he did it for drugs, but it's anyone's guess." Tony answered with anger coating his voice.

"He's screwed us over in the long run, since none of our subs are even a quarter as good as Dylan was, and now we have no Middle Linebacker." Tony growled. Ari pondered this for a moment, wondering what the requirements would be to try out for the Varsity team.

"Hypothetically, what would a Middle Linebacker need to be like in terms of his build?" Ari asked, trying to dig into what he would need to become.

"Agile, quick, but also has to be able to do some serious hitting. Most linebackers in general are usually heavily built, but not like a lineman. The linemen are like the tanks without weapons of the armed forces, and the linebackers are more like transport vehicles loaded with machine guns. Why do you ask?" Tony asked, slightly suspicious of Ari's intentions.

"No reason." Ari answered quickly, wanting to surprise Tony.

"Look man, if you're thinking about trying out for the position, go for it if you want to, but let me know. I can put in a good word for you and set you up in a tryout session. If you get in, I'll act as your trainer." Tony told him, seeing right through him. Ari looked down in embarrassment. _Of course he would know what I would be thinking about._

"Thank you." Ari said, thankful that Tony didn't reject him.

"No problem, man. Besides, I'm sure that Mossad training would surely help." Tony chuckled. At the word 'Mossad Training,' Ziva and Tali looked up, both thinking the same thing.

"Can we tryout too?" they both asked simultaneously, earning chuckles from Tony and McGee.

"Sorry, Football is a guys-only sport. They're not going to let girls even tryout." Tony said, but Ziva and Tali were undeterred.

"Can you at least take us to one of your practices? I'm sure they won't recognize us as girls when we put on all that gear and a helmet." Ziva said, practically begging him. Tony pondered it for a moment. _It sure would be fun to watch the David sisters kick ass in one of our practices, then reveal themselves as girls afterwards._

"Sure, I'll take both of you to one of our practices, maybe even next practice if you want? It's this Sunday." Tony said, and both Ziva and Tali brightened up.

"Thank you, Tony!" Tali squealed as she jumped into her arms, unfazed by the sweat.

"Thank you, we really appreciate it." Ziva said politely, not trusting herself to keep her hands anywhere PG if she got within two feet of Tony. Tony smiled as he ushered them into the SUV.

NCIS

The car was filled with jokes and laughter as Tony drove into Gibbs's driveway. Gibbs and Jenny were standing outside with smiles on their faces. They all exited the car with smiles of their own plastered on their faces. It truly had been an amazing night, and boy was it exciting.

"So, how was the game?" Gibbs asked, knowing that Tony's team won based on the smiles on all their faces.

"It was awesome! Tony was like an NFL player with all the jukes and stuff! He was so fast, no one could catch him! And one time he completely decked three of the other team's players at the same time! And then, one of the players on Tony's team got ejected, but Tony managed to cause a fumble and run it for a touchdown! And the-" Abby rambled, but was cut off as Jenny put her palm over her mouth, muffling her.

"Ok, we get it Abby!" Jenny smiled as Abby continued to ramble with Jenny's hand over her mouth.

"Come on kids, time for bed." Gibbs said, clapping his hands together. Everyone filed inside the house except Ziva and Jenny, who was waiting for Ziva to come inside.

"I just need a moment with Tony." Ziva told Jenny. Jenny gave a knowing smirk before going back inside the house. Ziva turned around to face Tony, who was watching her with a smile.

"What?" Ziva asked, shooting Tony a questioning look.

"You tell me, you're the one who wanted to have a moment with you." Tony replied, giving a bright smile. Ziva internally rolled her eyes it herself. _Duh!_

"Oh yeah, sorry. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for tonight. I had a lot of fun, and I appreciate it." Ziva said nervously, unsure now what to say.

"It's no problem, Zi. I'm glad you had fun, as was my intention. I hope we can do this again another time." Tony smiled, melting Ziva's insides. Ziva smiled as she suddenly found interest in the ground... _I am still wearing Tony's jacket!_

"Oh-sorry! Here's your jacket back." Ziva apologized as she started to take off her jacket. Tony simply put his hand on Ziva's shoulder, causing her to knit her eyebrows in confusion.

"Keep it. I think it looks better on you than it does on me!" Tony chuckled as he stopped Ziva once again from taking off the jacket.

"But this is your jacket, Tony! I can't just take it from you!" Ziva said, getting slightly frustrated that Tony stopped her once again from removing said jacket.

"Ziva, trust me. I want you to have it, consider it a gift. I hardly wear it anyway, so you won't have to feel guilty." Tony said seriously, communicating that he did indeed want Ziva to have it. Tears almost shot into her eyes as she felt the sincerity of his words. She quietly buttoned the jacket back up and adjusted it.

"Thank you." Ziva said quietly, placing her hand on his right cheek and leaving a lingering kiss on his left. The kiss shot fire and energy through both of their veins, time seemed to slow to a standstill, the world around them faded into nothingness, it was just them. Their minds seemed to stop working, their hearts pounded wildly in desire and something deeper, feeling in their legs slowly escaping both of them. Their insides turned to mush as butterflies fluttered madly in their stomachs, vision becoming blurred and smoky, their breathing erratic and quick. The sound of crickets chirping and grass gently shifting in the breeze was deafened, the smell of each other warm and sweet (what is this, drugs!? Imagine what they would be feeling if the kiss was on the lips...hmm...).

Ziva slowly pulled away, both of them immediately feeling the loss. Ziva slowly opened her eyes, as did Tony. They both gave each other beaming smiles, practically lighting up the whole neighborhood. They both reluctantly turned away and went back to their respective homes.

Chris was beaming at Tony as he walked through the doors and into the house. Tony gave his usual thumbs up, indicating that he won the game. Chris wasn't able to make it tonight since he had a SEAL buddy give him a call to pick him up from a bar. Chris patted his shoulder in congratulations, knowing Tony would be tired and only wanted to shower and go to sleep. Tony had an everlasting smile on his face as he made his way up the stairs and turned on the shower.

Chris had seen the entire exchange between Tony and Ziva, and it simply warmed his heart to see the endearment and kindness between the two. Tony might have finally found the missing piece to finding his true self again. Chris chuckled to himself as he realized something. _Teenage boy with Navy SEAL training slowly falling in love with teenage girl with Mossad training, who herself was slowly falling in love with said teenage boy? What is this, some kind of cosmic joke?_

NCIS

_Finally, Sunday!_ Ziva thought to herself as she anxiously awaited for Tony to come knocking on the front door to pick her and Tali up for his practice. Ziva had to admit, all she was really doing on Saturday was watch hours and hours of Football with Tali, both trying to get even more acquainted with the sport so they would perform better in practice. A knock came from the front door, and both Ziva and Tali shot up as they raced to open the door as fast as they could. Tony had an amused expression on his face as the door was practically ripped open seconds after Tony knocked. Tony stepped to the side and let them go by him and into the SUV. Tony chuckled as he closed the front door behind them and hopped into the driver's seat. The entire car ride was only Tony telling them to be careful, don't do anything risky, and all that boring stuff. Ziva and Tali groaned as they finally arrived at the school parking lot, happy to escape Tony's detailed lecture on concussions and practically threatening to pick them up and take them back to their house if they so much as left their mouth guards out of their mouths for more than three seconds while on the field. Shit he even accidentally let it slip that he would literally wrap them in bubble wrap if they got so much as a bruise during practice, which was annoying, but still quite adorable.

Tony quickly dragged them into the locker room and went to a far corner where the showers were. Checking the biggest shower stall, he ushered them inside and shut the shower curtain tightly. Equipment in hand, he gave Ziva and Tali their own pairs of equipment and told them to put them on while he stood guard outside. Tony got dressed quickly outside the curtain and silently glared at anyone who came within five feet of the shower he was guarding, sending them away to another shower.

Five minutes later and Tali came out of the shower with full pads and equipment on, a helmet with it's visor tinted so you wouldn't be able to see her face very well. Thirty seconds passed and a frustrated growl came from the shower.

"Ziva, what's taking you so long?" Tony whispered, watching out for any other players on his team who were nearby.

"I can't get my shoulder pads on!" Ziva hissed back at him as she let out another frustrated growl. Tony quickly stepped inside the shower to help her. Ziva let out a defeated sigh as she let Tony strip off the wrangled shoulder pads off and adjust them. Now came the awkward part: Football shoulder pads had padding that covered the shoulders, upper back, and...upper chest. Tony slowly slipped the large piece of equipment over head and began securing it in place. The entire time he made sure not to apply too much pressure, afraid he might offend her in some way if he pushed too hard in _those_ areas. After an awkward minute or so later, Tony finally buckled in the last strap in, firmly securing the pads in place. Ziva gave him a slight smile as he picked up her helmet and slipped it on, wearing the same visor Tali had worn. Tony helped her strap in the chin guard and fastened the mouth guard to the face mask so it wouldn't fall out. Finally, practice could start.

Tony jogged onto the field to talk to Coach Harris about two new players.

"Hey coach, I brought two of my friends to practice today. Is it okay if they participate?" _Tony_ asked, hoping he would say yes.

"With that win you got us last night, I wouldn't care if you brought twenty!" Coach Harris said in delight. Coach Harris was a tall African-American man with a strong and deep voice and unworldly large muscles, as if each individual bulge could fit at least two oranges, **at least**.

"Oh also, I think I know a guy who'd be a good filler for a Middle-Linebacker. His name's Ari Haswari, is it okay if you try him out some time?" Tony asked him. Coach Harris pondered it for a moment, then went with the knowledge that Tony could always pinpoint talent when he saw it.

"Sure, Tony. Bring him with you next practice and we'll see how he does." Coach Harris said, then blew his whistle to signal that practice would be starting.

NCIS

Everyone was amazed at how well Tony's two friends performed. They were pretty small in comparison to the rest of the players, but man did they have fire. Both of them moved at speeds surpassing everyone except Tony, who ran at a slightly faster pace then the other two. Not only did they have speed, but they were strong. It was a simple drill where one person would run with the ball, the other person would tackle the runner. The two would lie face-up on the ground 10 yards away from each other. As soon as Coach Harris blew the whistle, both of them would get up as fast as they could. The runner would have to get by the defender in any way he could while staying in a 10 yard-wide lane, and the defender would have to tackle the runner. Simple.

Tony was the first one to go as the defender, preparing to tackle Jason, the team's starting Full-Back. Coach Harris blew the whistle, and they both shot up from the ground at blinding speeds. Jason decided to go head-on and try to blow past Tony. Big mistake.

As Jason quickly approached Tony, he dipped his shoulder to take the brunt of the tackle, then try to peel away from Tony. Tony dived at Jason's waist before Jason could even lower his shoulder and brought him crashing to the ground. Everyone applauded as Tony helped Jason up and got out of the way for Tali to start.

Tali was paired up with Eric, the left Defensive-End with brute size and weight on his side. All the other players chuckled as they waited to see a humorous and feeble attempt of a small player matched up with a huge one. The whistle was blown, and Tali shot up and was seven yards away from Eric by the time he had gotten up. Eric tried to knock her over with his size and simply breeze past. As Eric charged at Tali, Tali side-stepped him and used a Judo move to quickly use the displacement of his body against him and slammed him to the ground, shocking the entire team. Tali snickered as she walked away, leaving Ziva to go against the biggest person on the team: Kyle.

Kyle was a 340 pound walking beast, with layers of muscle coated with more layers of fat. This hulking monster stood at 6 feet and 3 inches, a supreme challenge for even Tony to bring down to the ground. As Tony noticed who her opponent was, she grabbed her by the shoulder, a worried look in his eyes.

"Don't do this, you could get seriously hurt. He's got at least 200 pounds over you, you could literally get crushed!" Tony whispered in her ear so no one else could hear him. Ziva chuckled, amused that Tony was so worried for her. Then again, she had to admit that he had good reason to. Ziva playfully shoved him in the chest, a smile on her face telling him that it would be alright. Tony nodded slightly then retreated back to watch, prepared to rip Kyle off Ziva the moment things got hairy. Tony had sweat pouring down his face, holding himself from biting his nails as he watched Ziva lie down on the ground.

Adrenaline and excitement pumped through Ziva's veins as she lowered herself to the ground. _This is it. Time to blow Tony right out of the ocean. Or was it water?_

Time moved in slow-motion as Coach Harris blew the whistle. Ziva shot up at blinding speeds already running towards Kyle. Kyle slowly got up and started running by the time Ziva was within two yards of him. Kyle tried to completely dominate her with his weight and thought he would be completely unfazed by a tackle.

Ziva understanding that tackling Kyle wouldn't work, decided to try something else. As Kyle came within arm's reach, she quickly kicked his shins, sending him stumbling backwards. Using his unbalance to her advantage, Ziva kicked Kyle's shins again, sending him stumbling backwards again. Ziva shoved him forcefully to his chest, causing him to be very unbalanced. Ziva jumped into the air to Kyle's height and impacted her right forearm with his collarbone, using all her strength she could summon to send Kyle crashing to the ground.

Everyone's jaw's dropped as they stood frozen in place, too shocked for words. _What the hell? Kyle must be like 200 pounds heavier than him, how can someone as small as him possess that much strength? Even if that was illegal, that was still pretty bad-ass!_

Tony's jaw was wide open as he stared in disbelief at Ziva who made her way towards him. Ziva clamped his mouth shut with her fingers and gave a wide grin at Tony, who gave a feeble one in return. Making sure no one else was looking, Ziva gave Tony's ass a playful smack, causing him to turn around in embarrassment as Ziva chuckled. _Oooh, she's gonna get it..._

Coach Harris brought the whole team around him to prepare for the next drill.

"Alright boys! Team captain's will be Tony DiNozzo and his friend there." Coach Harris said as he pointed to Ziva. Tony and Ziva gave each other wide grins as both of them took a stance, saying with their postures that this was a game to be won for bragging rights. It was game time.

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**By the way, the whole bubble wrap thing was a true story in my life. Got a small bruise on my arm in the 7th grade in my first game, and my Mom actually threatened to wrap my arms in bubble wrap if it happened again (it happened again, but thankfully my Mom was only joking!)**_  
_

**But who cares about my personal life!? Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the story! Favorites and especially REVIEWS are VERY much appreciated! I do read each and every one of your reviews, and it only drives me more to write and update this story with every review! So please, keep the reviews coming, they always bring a smile to my face :)**


	12. Shot

**For your own sanity and peace of mind, read the bottom of the chapter that's highlighted in bold AFTER you finish the chapter. I fear that you may panic too early and stop reading the story without waiting for me to update it. With that said, enjoy the story!**

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Teams were quickly arranged, Tony purposely picking the substitutes of the team to give Ziva an early advantage. Pity, even Tony doubts Ziva's ability to play football. The two teams broke off and headed for opposite sides of the field. Tony and Ziva both walked up to the center of the field, where Tony would flip the coin.

"Do you want me to go easy on you? I wouldn't want to hurt you." Tony mocked.

"Do so and die!" Ziva hissed as she grabbed the coin from Tony and flipped it in the air.

"Tails!" Ziva called, and it landed on tails. Ziva smirked at Tony as she made the motion to receive to her team, and Tony made the motion to kickoff to his team. Tony and Ziva both jogged back to their teams, where they filled them in on the plan of attack.

Ziva was chosen to receive the ball and Tony was on the kickoff team. Nick, the substitute kicker, lined up a perfect kick to where Ziva would need to run to catch it. Ziva easily caught the ball in one hand and tucked it in the crook of her arm. She took off in a straight line, looking for an open lane. Ziva took a light hit from the side and fell to the ground, safely protected by a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. Looking up to see who tackled her, she was met with a smirking Tony DiNozzo. Ziva hit him in the arm and he yelped.

"Yaow! What was that for?" Tony asked as he helped Ziva stand up.

"Don't hold back. I'm not a piece of glass, hit me as hard as you normally would with anyone else." Ziva berated him.

"Well Zee-vah, if that's what every woman would say, chivalry would be dead." Tony smirked as he took position as Middle-Linebacker.

NCIS

Tony and Ziva were both bathed in sweat as they set up for one last play. The score was tied at 21-21, the time on the clock quickly going down. Much to Tony's surprise, Ziva and and Tali had been exceptional, even managing to take Tony down a few times.

Tony was playing as safety, scanning the field for any indications on what Ziva was planning. Tali was set up as a wide-receiver and Ziva was quarterback. Ziva dropped back a few yards to gain some room if she needed to get away from a defender. Ziva quickly spotted Tali available for a pass, so Ziva threw it.

Tony already followed Ziva's line of sight, and tracked it to Tali. Tony dove for the ball and caught it in one hand, making the interception. Tony jumped over Tali and ran on to try to make a final touchdown. He juked in and out of the other team, evading tackle after tackle. Tony ran to the left side of the field and took off on a full on sprint.

Tony was mere yards from the end-zone when something slammed into his right side, sending him crashing to the sidelines with another body on top of him. Tony heard a chuckle of victory as he went down, and he immediately knew who it was. Ziva.

Coach Harris blew the whistle, signaling that practice was finally over. Ziva held out her hand for Tony to take and he reluctantly took it, being hauled up to his feet surprisingly fast.

"That was a pretty good hit!" Tony exclaimed as he walked back over to Coach Harris with Ziva and Tali in tow.

"Oh, I was just going easy on you, not my best." Ziva mocked as Tony tried to figure out if she was joking or not. Coach Harris walked over to the trio to congratulate them.

"Tony! Why don't you have your two friends here do tryouts as well? I'm sure without a doubt they would make it in!" Coach Harris said.

Ziva and Tali gave each other knowing looks before taking off their helmets. Everyone besides Tony did a double-take, rubbing their eyes to make sure they weren't seeing things. _Girls!? We just got our asses kicked by girls!?_ Coach Harris burst into laughter as he patted Tony on the shoulder.

"Woooh! Man, you never cease to amaze me, DiNozzo! Please don't tell me Ari is a girl too!" Coach Harris joked with a serious undertone to it.

"Nah, he's a guy. Those two are sisters in case you didn't notice already." Tony said as he gestured to Ziva and Tali.

"And Ari's their brother." Tony explained. Coach Harris burst into another fit of laughter while the receiving strange looks from the rest of the players.

"Well, if he's anything like his sisters, I might as well get him a jersey right now!" Coach Harris said. Tony gave a sincere smile, making Coach Harris do his own double-take.

"DiNozzo, did you just smile?" he asked, his eyes as wide as bowling balls. Tony only nodded as he gave him a cheeky grin. Coach Harris glanced at Ziva who had her eyes pointed to the ground. _Ahh... I see..._

"Well it looks good on you." Coach Harris said before jogging over to where the rest of the players were formed in a tight circle, down on one knee and steam coming off of their heads from the exertion. Tony gestured for Ziva and Tali to follow him as he jogged back to the SUV. Tony helped Ziva strip off her shoulder pads and helmet while Tali easily slipped out of her own. Taking all the equipment, Tony stuffed it in the trunk and hopped into the driver's seat, making his way over to Gibbs's house.

NCIS

Pulling into the driveway, Tony turned off the radio and unlocked the car doors, waiting for Ziva and Tali to get out. Tali walked back into the house in dire need of a shower while Ziva walked over to Tony's side of the car.

"Thank you, Tony. Tali and I had a lot of fun, it really was one of those once-in-a-lifetime things for me." Ziva said, fighting the urge to rip open the car door and kiss him senseless.

"Don't sweat it, I'm glad you had fun, and to be honest that was one of the best practices I've ever had." Tony smiled, turning Ziva's insides into mush. Ziva got lost in Tony's deep sea-green eyes, those eyes that would sparkle with mischief and fire, but also happiness and...something else she couldn't quite place.

Tony himself was lost in Ziva's chocolate-brown eyes that seemed to swirl with mystery and excitement. They both unconsciously moved closer to each other's faces, inch by inch, closing the distance between their lips. By the time they both snapped out of their trances, they found their lips centimeters apart, their eyes communicating so much in so little time. Their hot breaths mingled with each other, both of them able to taste a sneak peek of what a simple kiss could be like. How it could bring entire oceans to a standstill, stop the Earth's orbit, bring the stars out, all just to watch such a monumental moment in their lives.

Their lips barely grazed each other in a ghostly touch before Anthony (somehow) jumped through the car window, eagerly licking the area Ziva's lips would have been a split-second later. Neither of them could help but laugh at the awkwardness and hilarity of the situation as Anthony's tail whipped back and forth like a machine-gun. After a minute or so Tony opened the car door to let Anthony out, but much to his amusement, Anthony clung to his leg in a death-grip. Tony and Ziva both burst into a fit of laughter as Anthony licked Tony's crotch, then went on to nibble on his inner thigh.

For some odd reason Ziva couldn't help but be turned on by the lick Anthony did on Tony's crotch. _If it were my tongue, gently swirling around there... Wait, shit did I say that out loud? _Ziva slowly turned to face Tony who was still laughing at Anthony and his many ways to show his love for Tony. Ziva exhaled a deep breath, her heart-beat going down at least 40 BPM (beats per minute). _Thank God!_

With a snap of the fingers, Anthony was immediately sitting at Tony's feet, eagerly awaiting his next command. Ziva stared in awe at Tony, who simply shrugged in reply. No one really knows why Anthony feels and has such a great connection with Tony, not even Tony knew, he just went with it. Tony snapped his fingers and pointed to the front door, and Anthony sulked back through, much to Ziva's amusement.

"So um...see you tomorrow?" Tony asked, unsure where to go from here. Ziva only nodded in response before scurrying through the front door and to her room where there would be an empty shower. Tony hopped into the driver's seat and pulled into his own driveway, then bolted through the front door and into the shower.

As both Tony and Ziva stood in the shower, warm-water spraying lightly over them, they both were thinking the same thing: What just happened?

NCIS

Dylan stormed into his house in a drunken rage. He grabbed the nearest chair and flung it at the kitchen island, knocking over several glass cups. Dylan screamed in outrage, kicking over the dinner table and throwing another chair at a window, smashing it. Dylan ran upstairs and stormed into his Dad's office, breaking down the door in the process. Dylan proceeded to fling the computer, chair, and several picture frames around the room. Dylan kicked the large wooden desk over and its contents spilled out. Desperately looking for something else to destroy, Dylan searched the mess. His eyes landed on a football, and he let out a beastly roar as he picked up the football and threw it out the window. Dylan had the entire house to himself since his mom had divorced his Dad and his Dad was on vacation in the Bahamas for another week. _HE'S DEAD! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!_

He went to his room and took out a pack of steroids. After injecting himself with the drugs, he went to the gym to work on building an exponential amount of muscle. Dylan was in the middle of doing bench presses when he saw Tony walk in, completely oblivious to his presence. Dylan was about to go over there and beat the crap out of him when he thought of something. _He humiliated me in front of the entire football team, in front of the entire school. Now I'm going to do the same!_

Dylan walked out of the gym and went to use his home weight set. Throughout the entire night he constantly lifted weights and built muscle, anger fueling every repetition. Dylan was on a constant dose of steroids, trying to gain every advantage over Tony and think of the best way to humiliate and hurt him. _I'll beat the shit out of him in front of the entire school, and nobody's going to stop me. Tony's always been prided as the best fighter in the school, so I'll kick his ass. And after I do that, I'll...uhhh...shit what the hell am I going to do next? Fuck it, I'll improvise._

Dylan took one last fresh dose of steroids before jumping into his pickup truck. Something caught his eye, however: His backpack was in a different position then from when he had left it last. The zipper was open all the way, but Dylan always left it completely closed. It was propped neatly against the passenger seat instead of on the floor. _Strange, I swear to God I left it on the floor, and I always close the zipper. Huh, must be seeing things. I didn't sleep last night, so yeah, that must be it. Sleep deprivation is making me see things. But I'm not even tired... Oh well, doesn't matter, the only thing that does is beating the shit out of Tony-fucking-DiNozzo's ass._

Dylan sped into the school parking lot, lugging his backpack with him that felt slightly heavier than it usually did. Dylan wasn't sure whether he should put his backpack away first or after he beat up Tony, but decided to put it away first so he would be quicker in a fight. That is, until his eyes landed on Tony walking through the halls. _This is fucking it! I'm gonna kick this dude's ass so hard he'll be crying for his Mom!_

NCIS

Tony was walking through the halls on his way to Ziva's locker to talk about the other day after football practice. At first Tony was confused out of his mind, unsure of his true feelings. But after he recounted every memory he had with Ziva, he realized that there has never been a bad one. Tony had grown to be so comfortable and safe around Ziva that he could let his true colors show, let the cold-hearted man with no emotions be wiped away. Tony realized that what he thought of Ziva was more than a fellow student, a neighbor, or a friend. No, this was romantic feelings, feelings he hadn't had with...anyone. Sure, Tony had kissed more girls than he could count, but that was it, simple teenage hormones working on his mind to get that extra push and need for something sexual, even though surprisingly Tony was a virgin. But this was different, this was Ziva.

For the first time in his life, Tony wanted a serious relationship, with Ziva. And considering that it was Ziva who had brought him out of his shell, who got him to peel off his masks, Tony honestly couldn't imagine anyone else he could possibly want to be with. Now Tony was on his way to discuss this with Ziva, to let her know how he truly felt about her. When Tony first set off for Ziva's locker, he hesitated, unsure what would happen to their friendship should she not feel the same. _Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith, lay it all on the line. I need to let her know how I feel, otherwise I could end up being too late. If that ever happened, I'm not sure I could live with myself. I'd be even more broken than when my Mom died._

Out of nowhere, a fist crashed into Tony's jaw, sending him flying into a nearby locker. Looking up to see who his attacker was, he was met with a right hook across his face, sending Tony to the floor. _Shit! Whoever's throwing those punches hits like a truck!_ Tony quickly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a kick meant for his gut. Tony hopped up onto his feet to meet an angry looking Dylan with wild eyes and a bulging vein on his neck that just screamed steroids. _Jesus, he looks twice as big as he was on Friday. How much has he been juicing!? Forget it, I'm not gonna wimp out of a fight, especially from some punk who gets his strength from...a shit ton of steroids._ Those were Tony's last thoughts before blocking a left hook and returning an uppercut to Dylan's chin, sending him stumbling backwards.

NCIS

Ziva was at her locker when she heard a large commotion from down the hall. A large crowd had formed a circle around what seemed like a fight, and a nasty one at that. Ziva tried to get a glimpse, but the sheer amount of students that formed around the fight broke off all chances of that.

"You're fucking dead, DiNozzo!" Ziva heard Dylan yell. _This can't be good. For Dylan._ At least that was what Ziva thought before she heard a grunt from Dylan and a second later a body being thrown into a locker.

"Jesus! Dylan must be loaded on some serious steroids! He's twice as big as he was on Friday! Shit!" a random student snickered as they watched the fight ensue. Ziva immediately grew worried for Tony. She desperately tried to fight her way through the crowd, but apparently the entire school had assembled to watch the legendary fight. Ziva heard a much heavier body being slammed into a locker, followed by multiple sounds Ziva could have only guessed were punches.

"Holy shit! Tony's making a come-back!" another student exclaimed as he held a camcorder, getting a view of the entire fight. Ziva was right next to the student, so she watched the fight ensue from the camcorder, helpless to do anything more than watch.

NCIS

Tony had a split lip and a broken nose, but apart from that Tony was in good shape. Being slammed into the locker had broken his nose, and the punches Dylan threw at the beginning of the fight had split his lip.

Dylan already had two black eyes and two of his teeth had popped out, but the sheer anger he felt numbed out all the pain. Blood glistened his teeth as threw another punch at Tony, only to be countered and thrown onto the floor. As Dylan tried to get up, a kick with the force of a bullet smashed into his gut, stealing his breath.

"Are you done yet?" Tony asked as he wiped a smear of blood from the corner of his lip. Dylan quickly dove for Tony's legs, tackling Tony to the ground. Due to the weight advantage Dylan had on Tony, Dylan managed to straddle Tony and deliver blow after blow to his face. After the fifth blow, Tony was done playing with Dylan. Anger boiled in Tony's blood, pissed off that he was losing a fight to a steroid junkie. _Fuck this, I'm done playing. No mercy._

Tony caught both of Dylan's fists in his hands and forcefully twisted them, bending Dylan's wrists. Dylan cried out in agony as Tony gave them a nasty twist, dislocating them. Tony pushed Dylan off of him and got to his feet. Dylan cried out in agony again as he snapped each of his wrists back into place and threw a right hook at Tony.

Tony easily blocked the punch, then swept Dylan's leg out from right under him. Dylan crashed to the ground, and was given no time before he was hauled right back to his feet and thrown at a nearby locker, breaking his nose. Blood poured from Dylan's nose as Tony repeatedly kicked Dylan's shins, making it nearly impossible to stand. Tony brought his knee flying at Dylan's face, sending him sprawling across the floor, the contents of his backpack spilling out.

Tony stepped over Dylan and gave a final kick to Dylan's side, causing him to roll over and look straight into his backpack.

"Piece of shit." Tony said as he spat on Dylan and began walking away, a clear path already being made for him, specifically Ziva's direction.

Ziva was standing in the middle of the pathway that had been made for Tony, and their eyes instantly locked. Tony was frozen to the spot, unable to speak or think, he just stood there.

Dylan was looking inside his backpack when something caught his eye. Dylan gently took it in his hands, and he instantly recognized what it was, even if he never brought it with him, or if he never owned one. Anger once again refueled his system as he gripped it in his hands and stood up. Immediately all of the students gasped in horror and fear.

Tony took one step gentle step towards Ziva when a bullet ripped through his body, sending him to his knees, then falling face-first to the school floor, a pool of blood rapidly forming around him.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUUUUUUN! OMG, TONY GOT SHOT! Didn't see that one coming did you? Or maybe you did see that coming...**

**ANYWAYS...just a heads up, TONY DOES NOT DIE, SO CHILL OUT! **

**With that being said, next chapter coming up on Sunday, I promise! **

**Favorite and REVIEWWWWWW...please?**


	13. Hospital

_Dylan was looking inside his backpack when something caught his eye. Dylan gently took it in his hands, and he instantly recognized what it was, even if he never brought it with him, or if he never owned one. Anger once again refueled his system as he gripped it in his hands and stood up. Immediately all of the students gasped in horror and fear._

_Tony took one step gentle step towards Ziva when a bullet ripped through his body, sending him to his knees, then falling face-first to the school floor, a pool of blood rapidly forming around him._

"TONY!" Ziva screamed in horror and fear as she shoved several students out of her way to get to Tony.

Multiple students of various sports teams tackled Dylan to the ground as students either ran away screaming, stood frozen in shock, or began dialing 911 frantically. Time seemed to freeze when Ziva first heard the gunshot, and a split-second later Tony's chest bursted, a bullet whizzing past her ear and embedding itself into a nearby locker. Ziva was kneeling by Tony in a matter of seconds as she gently turned him over, assessing the damage.

Blood was pouring out his chest as Tony coughed blood out of his mouth, a small pool forming in his mouth. Ziva already had tears streaming down her face as she ripped off her shirt and applied pressure to Tony's wound, desperately trying to stem his bleeding.

"Don't do this to me Tony! You can't leave me!" Ziva screamed, her bottom lip quivering. Despite Ziva's efforts, Tony was still losing blood, and fast. _Where is the damn ambulance!? _Tony's eyes lulled back in his head as his eyelids slowly covered his eyes.

"TONY!" Ziva screamed at him, forcing him to snap back to reality. _What the...was I shot? _Tony averted his gaze to his body, which was soaking in his blood. Fire and agony overtook Tony as he let out a large moan, tears springing in his eyes. _Oh yeah...I guess I was shot...in the chest. I guess this is it, I get to join my Mother in heaven. I just wish I still had more time, time to tell Ziva how I really feel about...oh wait, she's right in front of me._

Ziva had tears furiously streaming down her face and onto Tony's torso, but she could care less that she was crying, she was too focused on slowing down Tony's immense bleeding until EMT's arrived. Tony brought up his clean hand and gently wiped at Ziva's eyes and cheeks, wiping away tears that would only be replaced by new tears.

"Don't cry." Tony croaked out, the simple act of talking hard from all the blood slowly pooling in his mouth.

"Don't talk! It'll only make things worse!" Ziva said as she looked around, trying to see if the EMT's were there yet. Ziva was only clad in a sports bra and cargo pants as Tony's blood soaked her pants, splatters of blood on her stomach.

"Ziva...I need to tell you someth-" Tony was cut off as a whole new wave of pain shot through his body, causing him to cry out.

"Tony, please stay with me. You're going to get help soon, just stay with me!" Ziva screamed at him, her entire body quivering. The world was slowly fading to black, his vision becoming cloudy as death slowly began to drag Tony out of the world of the living. Tony was certain that he would not survive, and he knew he was running out of time to tell Ziva.

"Ziva...I think..." Tony trailed off as his mind became cloudy, suddenly forgetting what he wanted to say.

"Don't talk! You're going to live!" Ziva choked out, finally unable to contain her sobs. Tony brought his hands to cradle Ziva's face as she met his gaze.

"I'm not...going to make it...we both...know that." Tony croaked out, pain shooting through his entire body with every word. _So tired...I'm so tired..._ Tony blinked a couple times, desperately trying to keep himself awake and alive long enough to tell Ziva. Ziva was furiously shaking her head, refusing to believe that Tony could so easily be torn away from her.

"Ziva...I think...I think I'm...falling in love...with you..." Tony said in a bare whisper, more fearful of Ziva's reaction then his own life. Ziva was stunned into silence as she stared at Tony in disbelief. _He...loves me?_

"I love you too, Tony!" Ziva said, much to Tony's surprise...and emotional agony.

"Don't...live your life...and find someone else...to love...because you still...have time..." Tony said, as much as it hurt him to say those words. _I can't force Ziva to love a dying man. She deserves to live a happy life, to be married to a great guy that would bare his soul to her. That would give her beautiful children, and she could live a happy and successful life. As much as I would like to give that to her...I'll be dead within minutes._

"NO! You won't die! There is no one else I could possibly love!" Ziva screamed at him, trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince Tony. Through her years at Mossad, Ziva had seen plenty of dead, and she had never seen someone survive a gunshot wound to the chest and survive with medical attention being this prolonged. Her mind told her that Tony was going to die, but her heart wouldn't let her. After all, the heart wants what it wants. Tony wasn't able to answer as the darkness finally wrapped a veil of black over his entire being. The EMT's arrive right then and whisked him away onto a gurney, where an oxygen mask was placed over his face and he was being set up for a blood transfusion.

NCIS

Ziva sat in the waiting room wearing a fresh set of clothes that Jenny had brought for her. Jenny, Gibbs, Chris, Ari, Tali, Abby, and McGee had come all together after they had been informed of the shooting. Now they simply sat there, awaiting news, any news regarding Tony's condition. The only thing they had been informed of was that the bullet went through-and-through, but a small fragment had embedded itself in Tony's chest, so he was taken into surgery.

The doors from the ICU opened, and a doctor wearing fresh scrubs walked in holding a clipboard tucked in the crook of his arm. The doctor cleared his throat and brought his clipboard up so he could read from it.

"Family of Anthony D. DiNozzo?" the doctor asked. Chris stood up to his feet and walked over to the doctor, anxiety lacing each step.

"I'm his legal guardian. Is he gonna be alright?" Chris asked, all too familiar with gunshot wounds. The doctor gave a bright smile, much to everyone's relief.

"He's going to be fine. The bullet had been a through-and-through, and the bullet fragment was removed in surgery without complications. The bullet had missed every vital organ in his body, so he expect him to make a full recovery within weeks. The only major concern had been blood loss, but he had just enough blood to keep him alive. If he had lost so much as as a pint more, he would have been dead before we got him to the hospital." the doctor said, and everyone exhaled a breath they didn't know they had been holding.

"Can we see him?" Ziva asked as everyone else got to their feet.

"He can only have one visitor at a time, but he's asleep right now." the doctor said, eyeing Chris. Ziva was about to return to her seat when a hand shot out to stop her. Chris.

"You should go first." Chris said. Ziva shot him a look, wanting to confirm with him that it was okay with him. Chris simply nodded before the doctor led her to Tony's room.

Ziva walked into the room to see Tony peacefully snoring on his bed, an IV running into his arm and a trickle of drool hanging from the corner of his mouth. Ziva smiled at the sight as she took a spot in the chair next to his bed. Taking his hand in hers, she leaned on the side of the bed and was slowly lulled to sleep by the steady beat of the monitor and the occasional snore from Tony.

NCIS

Tony woke up lying in a hospital bed, a faint light turned on in the corner to suggest that it was during the night. _I'm...I'm alive?_ Tony looked at his hand which was currently occupied by another. Tony turned to see who it was, and was met with a hunched-over Ziva lying her head on the bed in a rather uncomfortable manner. Tony was about to say her name when a thundering snore reverberated throughout the entire room, causing the glass of water next to his bed to rattle slightly. _Jesus Christ, she snores like a drunken sailor with __Emphysema._

Tony was about to wake Ziva up when she shot up screaming, her eyes wide with fear. Ziva averted her gaze to the now-awake Tony who looked at her with concern.

"Jesus Ziva, you alright?" Tony asked, worried about Ziva. Ziva's eyes flared in anger as hours of anxiety finally released.

"Am I alright!? What the hell is wrong with you!? You were just shot in the chest! And you ask me if I'm alright!?" Ziva screamed at Tony. Tony simply stared at her for a moment, forgetting why he was in the hospital at all as he got lost momentarily in Ziva's eyes. Ziva was about to open her mouth again when Tony captured her lips in a Earth-shattering kiss. The kiss was soft and gentle, communicating that it wasn't about lust, but it was about care and love. Ziva's mind went blank as she softly returned the kiss, completely unaware of the grinning Chris that stood by the window.

Chris watched for a few minutes before silently going to the cafeteria to get a glass of water._ It's about damn time, DiNozzo. Does it really take you to get shot for something to happen between you and Ziva. Shit, someone could have made a romantic comedy out of you two.  
_

Tony and Ziva finally pulled apart after air became a necessity and they rested their foreheads against each other, panting hard. Tony scooted over so he could make room for Ziva and then pulled her in bed with him. Ziva rested her head against Tony's chest as Tony cradled Ziva's head in his arms, running his hands through her hair.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Tony asked, even though he already knew it was a nightmare. After all, he's been having them for two years straight, he could spot a nightmare from a mile away, even down to the tell-tale signs of increased Rapid-Eye-Movement, increased fidgeting, and abnormal sweating. Ziva only nodded, shuddering in fear of even remembering it. Tony brought his hand to cradle Ziva's chin, bringing her gaze to his eyes.

"What was it about?" Tony asked. Though many people wouldn't even dare to ask someone what their nightmares were about, Tony knew from personal experience that talking about your nightmares always helps in the long-run. Ziva let out a shuddering breath as she tried to find the strength to tell Tony.

"We don't have to talk about this right now if it makes you uncomfortable." Tony said, dropping a butterfly kiss to her forehead. Ziva shook her head in response, finally finding the strength to tell her.

"Back in Israel, a year ago, I was dating a fellow Mossad trainee, his name was Daniel Aspis..." Ziva said, slowly making her way through the story. Tony immediately tensed at the word 'dating.' The mere idea that anyone could have taken Ziva's heart, no matter how little, in a romantic way, was slightly unsettling to say the least.

"One night, I came over to his house just to say hello and...another man had a gun pointed at him, some drunk idiot. I tried to stop him but...by the time I realized that Daniel was in danger, the man had shot him in the chest... My father told me he had died." Ziva said quietly. Tony's eyes had widened to extremes he himself hadn't known was possible. Guilt bubbled throughout his body as he realized what he made Ziva relive.

"Oh Ziva, I'm so sorry, truly I mean it. I'm sorry I asked." Tony apologized, but Ziva shook her head.

"That wasn't what my nightmare was about." Ziva said quietly. In truth, Tony's simple presence around her made the entire retelling of that story much easier than she thought it would be, but now would be the hard part.

"I had a nightmare that...the person who shot you in school today...was that same man...who shot Daniel... When the doctor came in the waiting room earlier today, he informed us that you would make a full recovery. But in my nightmare, the doctor came in and told me...that you had died." Ziva said quietly as a lone tear trailed down her cheek. Tony noticed the tear and wiped it away with his thumb.

"I'm here now, and I'm not leaving you. I was a fool to think that I could ever be separated from you. I was wrong, wronger than I had ever been in my entire life, and I won't make the same mistake again, because I love you, now and always." Tony said, placing a kiss on Ziva's forehead, both of her cheekbones, then finally pecked her lips. Ziva gave a small but brilliant smile as she snuggled closer into Tony's side.

"I love you too, Tony." Ziva said, as sleep slowly came to both of them.

NCIS

Gibbs slammed his fist down angrily on the table in Interrogation Room 1. Dylan was literally shaking in fear as Gibbs told him about his blood tests showing minute traces of alcohol and massive amounts of steroids. That alone would get Dylan a good amount of jail time considering the fact that Dylan was eighteen and considered an adult in the judicial court system. But shooting someone? Shit, that could get you locked up for 20 years. At first Metro Police tried to fight for jurisdiction, but since Dylan's Dad was a Naval Petty Officer, NCIS got dibs.

"Ok Dylan, we're almost done here. You admitted to the drinking, drugs, and attempted murder of a fellow student, now I have one last question." Gibbs said, Dylan practically frozen solid as he met Gibbs's icy glare.

"Since neither of your parents ever purchased a gun, and you didn't either, I have one last question: Where did you get the gun?" Gibbs asked. Dylan's eyes grew wide, finding himself only able to offer a seriously bad response.

"I-I-it was in my backpack when I first found it this morning, I swear! I just found it in there, I never took it!" Dylan said, his entire body drenched in nervous sweat. Gibbs just stared into his eyes, practically looking into his soul for any signs of him lying. Gibbs just stared at him for a solid two minutes, each second with Dylan silently wondering if he would shit himself. Gibbs got up from his chair and walked out of the room and into Observation.

Tommy and Lisa were discussing what movie they would watch for their typical Monday movie nights when a tired-looking Gibbs walked in, rubbing his face.

"What's wrong boss?" Tommy asked. Gibbs just shook his head as he paced around the room.

"He's telling the truth, he found the gun in his backpack this morning. What I don't know is who put the gun there, and why they did it." Gibbs said, desperately searching the confines of his brain for any hint of who had done it. Something wasn't right here, the pieces didn't fit together. There was more to this case than meets the eye.

NCIS

A lone man dressed in a black hoodie and sweatpants stood outside a hospital room, peering inside as his nose scrunched up in disgust. A teenage girl was snoring loudly into a teenage boy's chest, both tightly wrapped around one another in each other's embrace. The man walked away, being sure to keep his head down from the camera's as he made his way back over to his car. The man hopped into the driver's seat and sped off, heading towards an abandoned warehouse.

Making sure no one was following him, he drove into the warehouse and got out. He walked into a separate room where maps of DC were plastered everywhere, from the subways to the streets, to every building that stood, the man had everything mapped out. Circles were drawn on various points on the map, pinpointing weak spots in roads and walls. The man turned to study the array of pictures he had taken. Pictures of high-traffic areas, schools, and finally another section of the wall, entirely dedicated to pictures of...Tony.

* * *

**Whoa...someone's stalking Tony :o **

**Sorry for the long wait for an update guys! My schedule was FRICKIN PACKED. **

**Anyways hoped you enjoyed this chapter, I know a lot of you guys have been wanting my chapters to be longer so I've started to make them 3k words long instead of the 1k-2k bullshit I know no one likes, and personally I like writing em' longer. Let me know if you want the chapters to be even longer, or if you like them as they are: 3k long. Something that you should keep in mind though is that if I stay within a 3k-4k word range for my chapters, I should be updating daily, or maybe a day longer here and there. But if I go for longer chapters, like 4k+, it might take me a little bit longer, but it will never take me more than three days MAX to update this. Just hit that REVIEWWWW button and just let me know what you think in terms of the length of my chapters, and I'll take your opinions into account.**

**Oh, did I mention that I absolutely LOVE hearing your comments and opinions on my stories? Truth be told, I read every single one of em' and I really do appreciate all of them, no matter how short or long they may be.**

**Oh also quick question, how many of you guys actually watched those football videos I posted? If you could put in your reviews whether or not you watched the video's, and if they helped, I would really appreciate it.**


	14. Reconnaissance

**Sorry for not updating yesterday guys, and the late update today! I was just SO exhausted yesterday after workouts, I just crashed. Anyway, did you guys like the episode tonight? Great Tiva moments, but OH MY GOD, THAT CLIFFHANGER. Anyway, enjoy the story! Favorites and REVIEWS are appreciated as always ;)**

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After the school shooting incident, the school had closed down for a few days, giving Ziva the opportunity to visit Tony and spend the day with him. When Ziva had first told everyone that she was in a relationship with Tony, their reactions were priceless, but how Chris and Gibbs knew already was beyond her.

_Flashback_

_Ziva had just got back from the hospital after spending the day with Tony. To her surprise no one came into Tony's room when she was asleep in bed with him, much to her relief. After some light discussion and a few intense kisses in between, they both finally agreed that Ziva would tell everyone that they were in a relationship._

_Now here she was sitting at the dinner table eating chicken noodle soup with Gibbs, Jenny, Chris, Ari, Tali, McGee, and Abby, trying to pick the best moment for her to announce it. Now wasn't one of those times._

_"...So I was in this bar in Japan, just having a couple drinks with my buddy Kevin, right?" Chris said, everyone wearing a bright smile hearing Chris's stories. Chris was like the more entertaining version of Ducky in terms of story telling. Ducky's stories you either interrupted or just flat out ignored. Chris's stories from his time as a SEAL were exciting to listen to, and funny as hell._

_"I must have been on my third shot of Vodka ya know, I wasn't in good shape, I've never been good at holding my liquor." Chris said, earning a few chuckles here and there._

_"My buddy Kevin stands up on his chair and starts singing Sinatra, which he was surprisingly good at considering he was seriously hammered. All of a sudden, some of the three most dangerous members of the Yakuza walk in, five bodyguards with them. Everyone runs screaming out of the bar as one of the bodyguards walk up to us, no here's where it gets interesting. The guy starts shouting at Kevin to get off the chair and you know what he does? He pulls a Robert De Niro impression and goes, "You talkin' to me?" Kevin got off the chair, picked it up, and slammed it across the poor guy's face!" Chris exclaimed, earning fits of laughter from everyone._

_"And then all the Yakuza guys freak out and run like hell out of there! Turns out, they were just asking for directions!" Chris exclaimed, smacking his fist on the table. Everyone screamed in laughter as tears came out of their eyes, clutching at their stomachs and gasping for air at the sheer hilarity of the moment. This went on for several minutes until finally everyone calmed down, Chris pulling a serious face._

_"You know, Tony came to me one day, he told me he wanted to be a SEAL when he grew up." Chris said solemnly, more to himself then anyone else. Gibbs sensed Chris's uneasiness and made a face at him._

_"You're not happy about that? He could grow up to be a hero." Gibbs said. Chris looked up at him with nothing but guilt and regret in his eyes._

_"I-I know. It's just...when Tony got shot today...I don't know, I felt as if a part of me died. If he became a SEAL, yeah sure I think he would do a helluva job at it, but he'd always be in so much danger. It...scares me. Do you think I'm a bad influence on him?" Chris asked them all, shocking all of them. Everyone just glanced at each other, too stunned for words. Finally Jenny cleared her throat and looked Chris in the eye._

_"You are such a great influence on Tony. You've done more for him than he ever could have asked for. You care for him like a son, and it shows each and every day. I personally don't think Tony would have made it without you, and I just know he loves you." Jenny said, warming all their hearts. Chris held back tears as he gave a wide smile at Jenny in appreciation._

_"Thank you." Chris said, thankful that no one saw him as a bad influence on Tony. Hell, even Jenny convinced him that he wasn't a bad influence on Tony._

_"He's making an excellent recovery if that's any consolation." Ziva said, and Chris gave a playful grin at her._

_"Oh, I know. And I know that you know." Chris said, wiggling his eyebrows. Ziva stared at him in confusion for a couple seconds before it hit her. Blood immediately rushed to her face as her mouth was slightly agape, completely stunned. "How does he know what happened between Tony and I!?" Ziva thought to herself. At this point everyone was staring at her, expecting an answer. Ziva exhaled a deep breath as she finally worked up the nerve to tell them._

_"Tony and I...we are...in a...relationship." Ziva said quietly. Chris smirked knowingly as McGee and Abby did a massive spit take, spraying chicken noodle all over Anthony, who was jumping up and down in glee (seriously, what the hell is with this dogs connection with Tony?). Ari and Tali immediately burst into mad fits of laughter, high-fiving each other as Jenny smiled sweetly at her. Gibbs quickly glanced at Chris, both of them sharing a knowing smile. Ziva quickly got embarrassed, the mad fits of laughter Ari and Tali were in not helping AT ALL.  
_

_"What, is there something funny?" Ziva asked, a pointed look at Ari. Seeing her expression sent both Ari and Tali into an even wilder fit of laughter, getting out of their seats and bending over, needing the movement to contain themselves._

_"Called it!" Ari and Tali shouted simultaneously as Ari handed Tali twenty dollars._

_"Ok you were right, within two months, not three." Ari said as Tali snatched the bills from Ari and pocketed them. Ziva stared in shock at everyone else._

_"Wait, you all knew?" Ziva asked, confusion dripping with every word._

_"Oh, I know, pshh." Chris said as he pointed at Gibbs._

_"He knew too." Chris said. Gibbs only nodded at Ziva, a smile forming on his face. Ziva stared in horror at them._

_"How-wha-huh...?" Ziva stammered, unable to form complete sentences. Jenny quickly walked over to Ziva and leaned to whisper in Ziva's ear._

_"Gibbs knows, he always knows." Jenny said, using a creepy tone to further explain that she had know idea how he did it, but Gibbs always just knew things._

_"As for Chris, I don't know." Jenny said as she smiled sweetly at Ziva and then turned to wash the dishes. Chris smiled evilly at Ziva, teasing her that she had no idea how Chris knew._

_End Flashback_

NCIS

The man had a camera in hands as he snapped multiple pictures of Tony with Ziva laying in bed with him. He sneered in disgust as their lips met again for what must have been the fiftieth time in an hour.

After taking dozens of pictures, the man went back into his car and drove off towards Tony's neighborhood. Once there, he got out of the car and went to Tony's house, where Chris was taking a nap. Careful not to wake him, he forced Tony's bedroom window open and slipped inside. Taking a careful look around, he carefully planted surveillance camera's and microphones throughout the entire house, not making so much as a squeak.

He carefully snuck right back out of the house and hopped back into the SUV, where he drove back to the warehouse. As he got out, a man with a ski mask over his face approached him, a handgun resting at his hip.

"Sir, we have the final test subject in Chamber 1. Testing commences on your go." the man said, leading him down a narrow corridor. The corridor was dimly lit, dust and bugs littering the floor. As they approached a large metal door, conversation could be heard inside. They opened the door, and the five men immediately stood at attention.

"At ease. Ralph just informed me that you have the last test subject. Is everything prepared?" the man asked. They all nodded in confirmation, and they all turned towards the glass, where a man wearing a HAZMAT suit and gas mask was pacing frantically in his prison. The chamber was a simple metal box with a bright white light illuminating it. Ralph took a seat at the controls and flicked a switch.

A green gas immediately started to fill the room, coming through the air conditioning in the room. The subject looked around frantically as the gas slowly started to close in on him. The man inhaled a deep breath and covered his face, not wanting to find out what the gas would do. It was futile, as the gas seeped through the cracks between his fingers, and the gas quickly spread through his system.

The man broke into a series of inhumane coughs, and within a matter of seconds he fell to the ground, blood streaming out of his ears, nose, mouth, and eyes. Everyone in observation broke out into a series of applause as Ralph flipped another switch, and the gas was filtered out of the room.

"Sir, Phase 2 of the plan is complete. Now we move into Phase 3, yes?" Ralph asked. Ralph was the leader's right-hand man, the guy the leader trusted the most. The leader nodded his agreement.

"Before we do so, however, I need something done." the leader said, handing Ralph the photo's he took of Tony and Ziva laying in the hospital bed. Ralph couldn't help but smile at the pictures.

"Cute couple." Ralph commented, earning the wandering looks of the rest of the men in the room. Then the realization hit Ralph, and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Wait, this is Tony." Ralph said, and all the rest of the men stilled.

"It appears he truly isn't ready to be brought into the group. He's not scarred enough, he hasn't been completely broken down. It appears he has found solace in the form of this woman." the leader said, pointing towards Ziva.

"Run her through the database, see what you can find out about her. I want names, addresses, family members, everything there is to know about her." the leader told Ralph. Ralph was about to leave with the photos when one of the other men stopped him.

"Sir, I know her." the man said, taking one of the pictures and showing it to the leader. Everyone furrowed their eyebrows as the man gave one last look at Ziva.

"How do you know this woman?" Ralph asked, answering for the rest of the group.

"Her name is Ziva David, daughter of Mossad Director Eli David. I do not know where she lives, or why she is here in the United States, and how the hell she know's Tony on such a personal level. However, I would be glad to do some reconnaissance, maybe even a little undercover work if need be." the man said. The leader gave an evil grin at the man.

"I like the way you think, Daniel. This is exactly why we took you in at such a young age, you were born for this." the leader smiled.

_Flashback: Daniel Aspis_

_Daniel was lying in the ICU, nurses coming in every now and then to check on him. The surgery had been done already, and now all they could do was wait for him to either live or die. A man wearing a surgical mask and scrubs walked in carrying a clipboard. Daniel smiled in recognition at the man._

_"Good job Daniel, you did well. Don't worry about the man that shot you, he is simply a pawn in our group, and you are a necessity to the group. I'm going to inject a chemical into your system, it will give the impression that you are dead by submitting you into a deep coma, while any attempt to read your heartbeat will be fooled. The chemical will also keep you with a steady supply of oxygen, so when you are buried, you will be able to survive. I will come pick you up in a week or so." the man said. Daniel grinned as his soon-to-be leader stuck a syringe in his neck and injected the chemical. The world quickly swirled to black, and the heartbeat monitor immediately went into alarm. Then the monitor reported that Daniel had flat-lined. The leader smiled as he walked out of the hospital room, brushing past the frantic doctors and nurses who were headed into his room._

_End Flashback_

"In a few days Tony's school will re-open, and Tony should be out of the hospital by then. The gun you planted in his backpack was a nice touch, I couldn't have done better myself. Keep constant watch over her, learn why she is here, how she knows Tony, and if I feel that it is necessary, I'll make a cover for you and insert you back into her life. Try to steal her away from Tony, there is no doubt that he'll be torn." the leader smiled. Daniel chuckled evilly as he shook his leader's hand.

"After I steal Ziva from Tony, I'm positive Tony will be ready to join our group." Daniel said as he left the observation room.

NCIS

Daniel was watching through a pair of binoculars into Tony's hospital room. Daniel had to admit, even though his group meant everything to him, he still had feelings for Ziva, just purely physical. When the leader told Daniel that he could be inserted undercover to steal Ziva from Tony, he nearly jumped in delight. _Maybe I'll be able to keep Ziva for my own after this mission. I'll be able to keep her safe from the gas attack in DC. Who know's, maybe I'll grow to even love her at some point._

Daniel had snuck into Tony's hospital room earlier and planed a microphone, so he would be able to hear their entire conversation.

"_Have I ever told you how much I love you?_" Tony's voice emitted in Daniel's earpiece. Daniel heard a chuckle as he watched Ziva bring her arms around Tony's neck and kiss him passionately. Daniel's stomach churned as he resisted the urge to grab the sniper rifle from the car and take Tony's head off right there. _Calm down, Tony's important to the group whether he knows it or not. I'll get my time to have Ziva for my own in due time._

Daniel sighed in relief as he watched them slowly pull apart, a twinkle in both of their eyes.

"_Only every single time you've had air to breathe after we've done this._" Ziva's voice emitted as she buried her hands in Tony's hair and gave him a much harder and passionate kiss. Daniel stood up and smashed his fist into a nearby tree, anger boiling throughout his body. _Oh, I'm going to have a lot of fun stealing Ziva from Tony._

NCIS

A few days later Tony was released from the hospital, a brace fastened on his torso to help support his chest as he hobbled over to Chris's car in crutches. After giving one last goodbye kiss to Ziva, he hopped into the car and watched Ziva's retreating form as she went into Gibbs's car.

"I'm glad you finally found someone to be with." Chris said, earning a wide-smile from Tony.

"She's different. She's strong, beautiful, mysterious, independent. She's everything I could have asked for in my life. I know you'll say it's to early to tell, but I love her." Tony said, unable to wipe the grin from his face. Chris smiled back in response.

"Hell, if anyone can look at their emotions and know exactly what they are, it's gotta be you, Tony." Chris said. Tony smiled happily in thanks, still high on Cloud 9.

"Thanks, Dad. Love you." Tony said as he dozed off to sleep. Chris's gut churned at the word 'son'. _Does he really see me as a father in his life? _Chris's heart fluttered in happiness as he watched Tony's sleeping form. Chris caressed Tony's knuckles with care as he gave a quick peck to the side of his head.

"I love you too, son." Chris said as he pulled into the driveway.

The group leader smiled as he listened to Tony call Chris his Dad. Though that should have been a name reserved for him, he couldn't really blame Tony. _After all, I did butcher his Mom in front of him. Can't really blame him for seeing Chris as a bigger father-figure than me. Oh well, in due time he'll go back to calling me Dad._

Anthony grinned evilly as another thought struck him. _I just found another way to break Tony. I butcher Chris in front of him like I did with his Mom, and he'll be broken even more after I have Daniel steal this Ziva David from Tony. Hell, he'll be so broken that I'll be able to mold him into a completely different person. Than there will be without a doubt that he'll be ready to join the group._

* * *

**Whoa! Tony's Dad is a leader of some crazy group! And Ziva's old boyfriend is alive after all! Heh, didn't see that one coming, did ya? (lol who am I kidding you all probably saw that coming, or at least the part where Tony's Dad is alive)**

**I can't even WAIT until next week's episode! That cliffhanger's probably gonna haunt my dreams tonight with all sort of speculations for what'll happen next. Personally, I'm going with a speculation that Tony will be super overwhelmed by guilt since he was driving the car after all, and he kinda did see that car coming. Ziva's side of the car was hit and with a crash like that, I can kind of see her going into a coma and Tony decides that he isn't worthy of her, that he isn't worthy of care and love. Meanwhile, Ziva's helpless to do anything as guilt consumes Tony and he probably avenges Ziva's father for Ziva by apprehending/killing Ilan himself. ****Tony will either take the full brunt of taking down Ilan and face the legal consequences in full or get himself seriously hurt in the season finale.**

**ANYWAYS...that's it for tonight guys and girls!**


	15. Author's Note

**I've been getting some reviews and PM's lately that they didn't like where this story was headed, for example the part where Tony's Dad is in some criminal organization. My response is that I am a GUY, and as much as I like all those little cute 'fluffy' stories, I often find myself stopping mid-story simply because all the fluff is just too overwhelming, there needs to be DRAMA! So with that, I truly apologize to all of you that wanted this story to be PURE fluff, but I honestly cannot handle that. If you haven't realized already, I like excitement, drama, suspense! I do plan on writing TONS of fluff, but it seems to me that a lot of Tiva stories nowadays are simply pure fluff with no seriously interesting plot. **

**So anyways, to make a long story short, this story will involve angsty moments, it will involve a decent amount of fluff, and I'm keeping the part with this story going into a more mature and suspenseful approach. I truly am sorry to those who have stayed with my story from the beginning and learned that this story was headed into territory you simply do not like, and trust me, I know how you feel. I will try to write more/less of whatever you do not like, but I'm not changing the entire plot. **

**Sorry if that may have been a downer for you, but in truth, a writer writes what he is comfortable with and enjoys writing, and this is simply the type of stories I enjoy reading/writing. Anyways, if you're still reading this and you still want to read my stories, WELCOME! ;) Favorites and REVIEWS are appreciated as always, and newest chapter going up as soon as this one is posted.**


	16. Movies

**Sorry for taking so long to update, AGAIN. I caught the flu recently and I feel like shit, and I just couldn't bring myself to update yesterday. But hey! I updated now, so that's gotta count for something, right? :/**

**Also, I really appreciate all the reviews and PM's I got to my recent Author's Note yesterday, it really did make my day a lot better with being sick and all, and I couldn't ask for better readers than you guys (or girls, but most likely girls)! You guys really are the best, and I really couldn't thank you all enough.**

**So without further ado, here is Chapter 16!**

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School had been an entirely new experience for Tony after he limped through those school doors with crutches and a brace on his torso, Ziva by his side helping him the whole way, the rest of his friends not far behind. When Tony had gotten inside, the hallways were completely empty, which was strange considering that they all had witnessed students unload from those bright yellow buses and file into the school. Tony was about to leave when from out of nowhere, half the school jumped out from various classrooms, all cheering as Tony stared in awe at them. One of the panels on the ceiling popped open, and a colorful banner came down with the words 'Happy Birthday Tony! Welcome back!' printed in large and rainbow-colored letters. _Shit, I forgot today was my birthday...wow._

Students and teachers alike were hooting and hollering as they formed a single-file line and greeted Tony. Tony could barely contain his excitement as he realized something: They see me as a true human being now, one with actual emotions and with the ability to care and love.

Tony's mouth was wide-open as Principal Vance himself came over to him and shook his hand, wearing a giant smile on his face.

"Welcome back, Tony." Vance said, letting out a chuckle as he took note of Tony's look of pure surprise, happiness, and sheer awe. Tony rubbed his eyes and blinked a couple times, double-checking that he wasn't hallucinating or something like that. He even started to probe various parts of his body, unsure as to whether an alternate reality or a dream would be more realistic than what was happening now. Tony felt his collar being grabbed in a tight ball before a pair of lips crashed down onto his, sending the entire school into a volley of wolf-whistles, giggles, and shouts of congratulations. But Tony didn't perceive any of it, as the only thing he could focus on right now was the all too familiar pair of lips that were currently ravaging his face, lithe but muscular arms tight wrapped around his neck. _I swear if I wasn't being supported on a pair of crutches, I'm dead certain that I would've collapsed on the floor grinning like a bumbling idiot._

The kiss lasted close to an entire 30 seconds before they slowly broke apart, their eyes never breaking eye-contact. Those beautiful Godiva dark-chocolate eyes that seemed to swirl with mischief, lust, and mystery.

"You knew?" Tony whispered in Ziva's ear, hot with pheromones lined with a tender and loving voice. Ziva simply looked at him, her eyebrows crooked that just screamed _ya think_?Tony couldn't help but grin at her.

"Well that was a helluva birthday present." Tony whispered again, and Ziva inconspicuously stroked Tony's crotch, causing him to moan loudly in her ear.

"That was simply a sneak peek, your real present has yet to come." Ziva whispered seductively and slipped out of his grasp, leaving a shell-shocked Tony gaping at her, his eyes wide open and mouth slightly agape. Ari laughed wildly as he slapped his hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his trance.

"I approve!" Ari said as he put on a wide grin. Tony almost passed out right there at Ari's words. _Wait-wha-what the! He's ok with Ziva and I having-wha-bu-wha!?_ Ari didn't sense Tony's awe in the slightest as Ari gave him a thumbs-up (obviously Ari didn't hear what Ziva whispered in Tony's ear, and he DEFINITELY didn't notice that Tony misunderstood ENTIRELY what Ari was trying to say). Before Tony could respond, Vance quickly re-assumed his control and authority over the school.

"Alright! Time for class!" Vance's voice boomed through the school. All the students groaned as they trudged back to their respective classrooms, leaving Vance to smile inwardly. _Ha! I STILL got it!_

Abby couldn't wipe the mischievous grin off her face as she went to her locker with Tali and McGee in tow. Because unbeknownst to Tony or Ziva, Abby could lip-read with a surgeon's precision, and she read every word they whispered to each other. Tali and McGee both noticed Abby's more-than-usual bubbly-ness, and quickly became suspicious.

"What is it, Abby?" Tali asked. Abby feigned ignorance as she held up her hands.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Tali!" Abby giggled, practically skipping over to her locker. McGee and Tali shared a look of confusion before shrugging it off and going to their own lockers._  
_

NCIS

The day had been one of the best Tony has had in his entire life, filled with laughs, celebration, friends all around, and spending time with Ziva. Chris was out of town for a week since he was asked to teach some fighting techniques to some of the newest recruits to the Navy SEALS, so Tony had the whole house to himself.

He was in the middle of watching a movie when the doorbell rang. Tony groaned as he paused the movie and hauled himself to his feet. He was surprised to see Ari standing there when he opened the door dressed in athletic wear with a gym bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey Ari, what's up?" Tony asked, already knowing the answer.

"Hello, Tony. I was wondering if we could go to the gym together. You could perhaps be my trainer?" Ari asked hopefully. Tony gave a sincere smile as he picked up his sneakers and socks off the floor.

"Sure, Ari. I'd be glad to do that." Tony said, slipping on his shoes. Ari smiled as Tony grabbed his car keys and unlocked the SUV. Tony and Ari both got into the car and Tony drove away.

They arrived at the gym where Tony purchased a membership for Ari so he could have full access to the gym (which Ari was very grateful for).

"Wow, this place is huge!" Ari mused as Tony showed him around. Tony chuckled as he pointed to the stairwell.

"Up the stairs is an in-door football field!" Tony said, making Ari's jaw drop. Tony dragged Ari into the weight room and took a moment to properly size Ari up.

"You have Mossad training, correct?" Tony asked. Ari only nodded, drawing a grin from Tony.

"Good. Now from what I can tell, you are exceptional in every physical aspect, but your strength needs to be beyond exceptional." Tony said, causing Ari to give him a questioning look.

"The guys you'll be tackling have been training for years to get hit and keep running, so the kind of impacts you'll be facing will be very hard. You need all the strength you can get to help you bring them down instead of brushing past you." Tony said as he led Ari to a bench press. Tony began loading weights on either side of the bar and went behind it while Ari lowered himself down onto the bench.

"Ok, I'm going to help you get started on the first one, and you're going to bring the bar down slowly to your chest, then bring it back up. Take deep breaths, breathing out when yo're actually doing the work, or in this case, pushing the bar up." Tony said. Ari nodded as he brought the bar down slowly to his chest, then exhaling as he pushed it back up. _Hmm, he learns fast. No doubt this should good for him._

NCIS

Two hours later, Ari limped into his house, drenched in sweat and his whole body aching. He ripped off his shirt and threw it in the washing machine before going into the kitchen and retrieving a cup from the cabinet and filled it with faucet water. He downed the whole cup in one swig and exhaled loudly in satisfaction.

"Tough workout?" Ziva asked, causing Ari to jump back in surprise.

"God Ziva! You scared the crap out of me!" Ari exclaimed, putting a hand on his chest. Ziva snorted as she pushed Ari out of the way, grabbing her own cup from the cabinet and filled it with tea, which she sipped from.

"Yeah, it was REALLY tough." Ari said, plopping down onto one of the wooden chairs Gibbs had crafted himself. "By the time we were finished, Tony had to practically carry me to the car because I was so wobbly!" Ari exclaimed, drawing a snicker from Ziva.

"Well look on the bright side, you'll do better in football, hopefully." Ziva chuckled.

"Ha ha, very funny." Ari growled, limping up the stairs to take a shower and ease his muscles under some steaming hot water. Ziva was almost finished with her tea when her phone vibrated, indicating that she had a text. Looking to see who it was, she took it out of her back pocket and smiled when she saw who it was. Tony.

_Tony: Hey Ziva, wanna come over and watch a movie with me?_

Ziva pondered it for a moment, then decided that she didn't have much to do since she already finished her homework and TV really wasn't appealing to her at the moment. Besides, she loved spending time with Tony.

_Ziva: Sure Tony, I would like that. When can I come over?_

_Tony: Now is fine. I'll let you pick whatever movie you want to watch. I have a lot to choose from._

_Ziva: Ok._

Ziva could hardly contain her excitement as he bounded up the stairs to grab Tony's football jacket that she practically wore everywhere and grabbed a pair of socks. Ziva knocked on Gibbs/Jenny's bedroom door, and a couple seconds later Jenny opened the door.

"Hi Jenny! I am going over to Tony's to watch a movie with him, if that is fine with you?" Ziva asked, internally pleading that she would say yes.

"Of course you can, Ziva! Just don't be home too late." Jenny winked at Ziva, causing to roll her eyes.

"Thanks, Jenny." Ziva said before running down the stairs, slipping on a pair of sneakers, and going out the front door. Ziva was pleased that the moment she rang the doorbell, it was thrown open and Tony was immediately devouring her face. The kiss lasted for a few minutes before they pulled apart and Ziva smiled at him, smacking him on the ass as she brushed past him. Tony yelped in surprise before shutting the front door.

"Crazy chick." Tony muttered as he locked the front door, still not entirely secure with being in a house that wasn't completely locked down.

"Hey! I heard that!" Ziva yelled from the living room, waiting for Tony to join her on the couch. Tony turned on the giant flat screen TV and opened the huge cabinet doors where his movie stash was collected. Ziva dropped her jaw in surprise to see the hundreds of movies that Tony had.

"So, you can pick what we watch first, that is, if we watch more than one." Tony smiled, completely unaware of Ziva's surprise as he reminisced in simply looking at the titles.

"Tony...why do you have so many movies?" Ziva asked. Tony cast his eyes downward for a moment, the subject 'touchy' for him. Tony exhaled a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"My Mom and I would always watch movies together. Every weekend, we would always have these special movie nights. My father would always be on business trips on the weekends, so it became a way to escape the feeling of... abandonment." Tony said quietly. Ziva couldn't even move, stunned into silence. She tried to apologize, but the words got caught in her throat.

"We would laugh together, cry together, smile together... My Mom was my best friend in every way, and no matter what, I always wanted to make her proud, to make her happy. I loved her more than life itself, and I would do anything for her." Tony said, talking more to himself as the memories flooded his mind.

"And it just hurt all the more...to watch her being murdered in front of my very eyes...it made me so...angry with myself. It made me feel so...useless...and weak. Chris always thought I did all this Navy SEAL stuff to make me stronger, to make me feel safe should my father ever show up again, but that's not how it is at all. I do it so I can feel better about myself, so I don't feel so...weak. Every ounce of effort I put into...anything really, I do for my Mom, to make her proud. I still don't know what I want do do with my life, whether I should actually become a Navy SEAL, or something else, but I just want to make a difference in people's lives. To help other's in need, to save lives, to bring closure to people." Tony said, tears flowing freely down his face.

"Movies became a way to connect with my Mom, I would always watch them and imagine that my Mom was right there, sitting right next to me as we ate ice cream together. Hell, sometimes I even talk to myself as if my Mom was actually listening. The reason I have so many movies is because movies became one of the last ways I could remember her, and it truly scares me, the thought of me ever forgetting a single aspect about her. I still remember everything about her, from the way she would flip her hair when it got in her face, the way she would smile, even the way she scratches her nose when she's confused. Each and every movie I ever watched with her I still keep. And every movie I had ever seen I keep, as if I'm storing memories." Tony said quietly. Ziva herself had tears pooling in her eyes as she slowly walked over to Tony. As soon as she touched him, Tony started sobbing as he hugged Ziva tightly, crying into her shoulder as Ziva whispered comforting words into his ear.

"It hurts...so much!" Tony croaked, his tears soaking Ziva's (well, Tony's) jacket. They stayed like this for several minutes before Tony ran out of tears and literally fell asleep in Ziva's arms, standing (seriously, how do people do that?). Ziva helped Tony onto the couch and laid him down on it. Ziva spotted a blanket draped over a chair and grabbed it, draping it over Tony's sleeping form. Ziva pondered on the next plan of action before Tony immediately started screaming. Ziva jumped in surprise as she saw Tony screaming in his sleep, tossing and turning as sweat quickly started forming on his brow. Ziva ran over and shook Tony's shoulder.

"Tony!" Ziva shouted, waking Tony from his nightmare with a start. Tony immediately sat up, his eyes wide with panic, breathing heavily.

"It was just a nightmare." Ziva assured him, and Tony sighed as he lowered himself back onto the couch. Deciding that Tony would need the comfort, Ziva took out her phone and sent a quick text to Ari.

_Ziva: Ari, Tony had a nightmare tonight, so I am going to stay with him tonight to make sure he sleeps through the night._

_Ari: Ok, I will tell Jenny._

Ziva pocketed her phone and curled up next to Tony underneath the blankets. Ziva snuggled into Tony's chest as Tony brought his arms around her.

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to." Tony said after a few minutes of silence, hoping Ziva would want to stay anyway. Ziva simply tightened her grip on Tony.

"I want to stay." Ziva said, pecking his chest through his white t-shirt. Tony sighed happily as he let his eyes shut, letting sleep slowly take him away.

"I love you." Tony mumbled as sleep finally took him away into dreamland. Ziva smiled as sleep slowly overtook her.

"I love you too." Ziva mumbled before falling asleep herself.

NCIS

The rest of Anthony's group was disposing of the test subject's body when a red 2013 Dodge Charger pulled up. Ralph came out of the car, just finishing a call before ending it and putting it in his pocket.

"Hurry up, boss wants the gas loaded in those tanks now!" Ralph shouted at the five men who were loading the body with metal weights.

"Got it, Ralph!" they responded, dumping the body into the water of a random pier. Ralph got back into his Charger and drove off, already calling Anthony back to let him now that the gas tanks were going to be filled and that the body had been hidden. As they all started off to their respective cars, one of the men approached another, a grin on his face.

"So, what was the excuse you gave him this time?" the man asked, drawing a grin from the other.

"Told him I had to teach some Navy SEAL recruits fighting techniques and that I'll be out of town for a week." the other man said. Both of them laughed as they approached their cars.

"Well I'll see you back at the warehouse Chris. Those gas tanks aren't going to fill themselves." he said, slapping Chris on the back. Chris grinned at him before jogging over to his own car.

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**Wait, WHAT!? Chris is a part of Tony's Dad's criminal organization!? WTF!? **

**Now HOLD ON, before you panic and quit the story, just stay with me here. I know some of you might just be all like "Oh my God, Chris is a bad guy, I'm so done with this story," and my response is that this is a story that will contain DRAMA and SUSPENSE, emphasis on the suspense part. So just stay with me here, I promise you that I do not aim to disappoint, and that I do aim for a happy ending. I do not want to give out any spoilers where everyone can see it, but if you are simply DYING for it, PM me and I'll get back to you, but I'll have to be kinda vague about it.**

**Anyways, don't forget to hit that REVIEW button. I do read each and every one of your reviews, and they never fail to bring a smile to my face. I truly appreciate them, and am grateful for each and every review I have received.**


	17. Nikolai

**Sorry again for taking so long to update! Got over my case of the flu earlier today, and I immediately got writing. Anyways, don't forget to favorite and REVIEW! **

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The warehouse was buzzing with noise as pumps vigorously pumped poisonous gas into metal tanks slightly larger than fire extinguishers. The tanks were loaded onto metal racks in a large storage room layered with 2 inch-thick titanium. Hundreds upon hundreds of the tanks were already stored inside, and that number was growing by the hour.

Chris was tasked with attatching remote charges on the tanks that would release the gas with Abdul, the man he talked to right before getting into his car to drive over to the warehouse. At the moment the rest of the group was still scouting out DC to look for the best places to release the gas and Abdul was starting to get hungry.

"Hey Chris, I'm gonna go grab a bite, I'll be back in 30 minutes. Want me to bring something back for you?" Abdul asked, itching to feed his growling stomach.

"Just bring me some McDonald's or something." Chris said without looking up, attatching another charge onto a gas tank.

"Gotcha!" Abdul said as he jogged out of the room, closing the door behind him. Chris immediately stopped working and put his ear to the door, listening for the tell-tale rev of an engine that would tell him that Abdul had indeed left. After hearing the roar of the engine, Chris bolted to the nearest gas tank and pulled out a small device from his pocket.

Chris went to each gas tank and planted the device on it. A whir of metal shifting could be heard inside the device and a second later the device popped right back out. He managed to plant it on each gas tank right as Abdul came back.

"Hey, Chris! I'm back with some food!" Abdul announced, a bag of McDonald's burgers clutched in his right hand as he noticed Chris spin around a little too quickly.

"Thanks." Chris said, snatching the bag and digging right into his meal. Abdul eyed Chris suspiciously, something wasn't right.

"You feelin' alright man?" Abdul asked, easily noticing that Chris was nervous under the calm exterior he tried to hide behind.

"I'm fine, why?" Chris said quickly. Abdul stared at Chris for a couple more seconds before opening the door to leave.

"You seem antsy is all." Abdul said before shutting the door behind him. Chris could barely bite into his Big Mac as sweat formed on his brow. _Shit, that way WAY too close. _

NCIS

Birds chirped and sang happily as sunlght pured into the DiNozzo residence. Ziva groaned as she rubbed her eyes. Feeling around she noticed that the familiar presence of Tony was missing, and she shot up with eyes wide-open. She scanned her surroundings, and began to panic that Tony was missing, and that based on the amount of sunlight she was late for school by about 2 hours.

Ziva jumped up and frantically searched the house to find Tony. She was about to call his name when she heard faint music coming from upstairs. Ziva crept up the stairs to the source of the music, which was by far the most beautiful thing she had heard, ever. A steady flow of music echoed through the upstairs hallway, a heavenly voice resounding against the walls. _Tony? _Ziva came to a large bedroom with lilac-colored paint coating the walls, setting the interior in a peaceful and relaxed mood. Ziva saw Tony playing a beautiful piano that faced the entire neighborhood, where kids were outside playing.

Ziva took a seat on a nearby chair and closed her eyes, listening to the harmony of music Tony produced. Tony had went through 3 songs with absolutely no mistakes whatsoever, hitting each note right on cue. Tony had an everlasting smile on his face as happiness flowed through him, still unaware of Ziva's presence. Tony stopped playing after his fifth song in Ziva's presence and simply stared at a framed photo resting on top of the lid. Ziva didn't even notice it until she slowly followed Tony's line of sight to the picture.

Ziva squinted to see what the picture was, and after a brief moment she realized it was the same photo Tony let her see on the bus, it was her first day at Washington High. She could see that Tony was completely lost in the picture, so she crept up behind him to subtly let him know of her presence. Tony stilled and turned around to find himself face-to-face with Ziva.

"You play beautifully." Ziva commented, earning a slight grin from Tony.

"Thank you." Tony replied. Sensing the next question, Tony put his finger on her lips.

"School holiday, so we don't have to go to school." Tony said, and Ziva nodded in understanding.

"Where did you learn to play like that?" Ziva inquired, still amazed by his skill. Tony smiled as he brushed Ziva's cheek with his thumb.

"My Mom taught me. We would play together in this very room, and on this very piano. Hours and hours we would go on uninterrupted. It was just another one of those things we did together exclusively." Tony answered, earning a smile from Ziva. Tony's stomach grumbled, and Ziva smirked as she stood up.

"Would you like me to make you breakfast?" Ziva asked, not waiting for a reply as she walked out of the room and went down the stairs.

"Yes please!" Tony yelled as he went after her.

Tony and Ziva sat together on the kitchen island 30 minutes later with bacon, eggs, and toast on their plates. They both sipped on a glass of milk as they dug into their food.

"So, what would you like to do today? Since we do not have to go to school, it seems that we have a lot of free time." Ziva said as she chomped down on another bite of toast. Tony pondered it for a minute, completely dumbstruck as to what they could do. Then it hit him.

"Well for starters, we could always watch a movie after breakfast. You know, since we missed it last night." Tony offered. Ziva tensed slightly at the word movie, knowing how much they truly meant to Tony.

"Are you sure? I would not want to intrude on something that means so much t-" Ziva was cut off as Tony's lips connected with hers. At first she was surprised, but quickly regained her bearings as she wrapped her arms around Tony's neck and returned the kiss. They broke apart after the lack of Oxygen in their lungs became life-threatening. They rested their foreheads against each other as they panted heavily, frantically filling their lungs with air.

"I wouldn't want to watch a movie with anyone else but you." Tony assured her, placing a quick kiss to her lips. Ziva smiled as she got up off the chair and dropped her dirty dishes into the kitchen sink, running the faucet over them to make sure none of the food got stuck on the plate. Tony hastily ran his own plate under the water of the faucet before plopping down on the couch next to Ziva. Tony turned on the TV and immediately got lost in a Sham-Wow commercial.

Ziva poked him in the side, causing Tony to spin around with a questioning look on his face.

"The movie, Tony?" Ziva asked playfully, giving Tony one of Gibbs's headslaps.

"Ahhh...right." Tony said as he hopped up and opened the cabinet door where the movie's were.

"So we got the _Spiderman_ Series, _Psycho_, _Scarface_, _Tra-_" Tony was muffled as Ziva placed her hand over his mouth.

"I think it would be easier for the both of us if I just looked at all the movies." Ziva said, pushing Tony to the side and looking over the movies for a few minutes. Finally she found a movie she had always wanted to watch.

"How about _The Sound of Music_?" Ziva asked, drawing an amused look from Tony.

"Are you serious!?" Tony shouted as he dropped to the floor laughing his ass off. Ziva growled as she put the movie in the DVD player and went back to the couch. Tony slowly got up and made his way to the couch, every now and then breaking into a massive fit of laughter at the look on Ziva's face. Ziva punched Tony in the arm as he broke into another fit of laughter on the couch. Tony yelped as he feigned an expression of pain.

"Ouch, what was that for?" Tony asked. Ziva smirked as she playfully tapped the tip of his nose.

"For laughing at my movie choices." Ziva replied before returning her attention back to the movie.

NCIS

Gibbs was observing his agents work on their latest reports when the elevators opened and a man wearing a black trench coat walked in. It only took Gibbs a second to realize who the man was, and immediately he brought out his SIG SAUER and aimed it at the man.

"NCIS, hands in the air!" Gibbs shouted. Everyone agent on the floor brought out their service weapons and pointed it at the man in the trench coat who had a haunted look on his face as he shakily raised his hands above his head. Tommy ran over and cuffed him tightly, then started marching him over to Interrogation Room 1. Jenny bursted from her office, her service weapon out as well.

"What is going on he-" Jenny stopped herself as she saw the identity of the man who was being marched to interrogation. The man's name was Nikolai Gusarov, one of the men on the most-wanted wall at NCIS. Jenny simply nodded at Tommy, who then led Nikolai into interrogation, Lisa and McGregor close behind. Jenny hurried down the steps to face Gibbs, who was waiting for her.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Jenny asked, suspicious that Nikolai, a man who could be sentenced with over 100 life-sentences and 50 death-penalties, just happened to be arrested here, at NCIS.

"I have no idea. He just walked out of the elevator and I recognized him. He turned himself in." Gibbs said, eyeing the retreating form of Nikolai.

"Lets go to interrogation and see why he's here." Jenny growled before storming to interrogation, Gibbs trailing behind.

30 minutes later Tommy, Lisa, McGregor, and Jenny watched from the Observation Room as Gibbs burst into the interrogation room, causing Nikolai to jump. Gibbs slammed the door and tossed a file onto the black table, taking a seat across from Nikolai. Nikolai was literally shaking as Gibbs opened the file.

"Nikolai Gusarov: 128 assaults, 5 acts of terrorism in the United States, 207 murders, 92 kidnappings, 62 accounts of money laundering, 42 kidnappings of United States citizens, and the new leader of the Reynosa Drug Cartel in Mexico, newly renamed as the Gusarov Drug Cartel. You are a dangerous man, Nikolai." Gibbs said, steel cold blue eyes meeting nervous and frantic brown eyes. Nikolai was sweating profusely in anxiety as he shakily wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Why are you here, Nikolai?" Gibbs asked, confused by Nikolai's fearful and anxious behavior. Nikolai gave no answer as he stared at the table, twiddling his thumbs.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE!?" Gibbs shouted, slamming his fist on the table. Nikolai actually screamed in fright as his entire body quivered in fear. Gibbs and everyone in observation quirked their eyebrows in utter disbelief. Nikolai was credited to be a cold man who didn't know fear, who could massacre scores of men, women, and children without a second thought or remorse.

"He's going to kill me... He's going to kill me... He's going to kill me..." Nikolai repeated like a mantra, his eyes wide-open. Before Gibbs could have another outburst, Tommy decided that another approach needed to be taken, so took it upon himself to interrogate Nikolai. Tommy walked into the interrogation room, and both heads snapped to him.

"Sorry boss, rule 22, I know, but I think it would be easier if I did this." Tommy said, wincing in anticipation of a headslap. Gibbs sighed, stood up, and brushed past Tony, rubbing the back of his head on the way out. Tommyfurrowed his eyebrows in confusion for a moment before shutting the door to the interrogation room and brought his chair next to where Nikolai was sitting. Nikolai had a fearful look in his eyes as he looked at Tommy.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you." Tommy said, holding his hands up. Nikolai calmed down slightly by the honest expression on his face.

"Now, let's start from the beginning. Why did you turn yourself in?" Tommy asked, and Nikolai seemed to regain his bearings.

"I...I needed protection." Nikolai said.

"Why do you need protection?" Tommy questioned. Nikolai gulped visibly and closed his eyes, the horrors of the attack fresh on his mind.

"Yesterday the base headquarters for the Gusarov Drug Cartel was...attacked. Two men...two men against 200 of my finest bodyguards and soldiers. They threw these...gas canisters...and rushed in with these bulky gas masks, guns blazing. These weren't your average HAZMAT gas masks either, they looked...very secure. We all put on HAZMAT gas masks, but the gas penetrated the masks like we weren't wearing anything at all. All 200 were killed by the gas." Nikolai said, obviously troubled by the event.

Tommy knew he should be asking about the men, or who attacked him, but the gas issue seemed to be very important, something he certainly never heard about yet.

"The gas, do you know what kind of gas it was? I'm sure with all your arms dealing and knowledge about modern warfare that you can identify the gas, no?" Tommy asked. Nikolai shook his head furiously.

"It had a green hue, but it was unlike anything I had ever seen. Based on what I saw, the gas seemed attracted to organic material, almost like magnetism. It spread like wildfire, four canisters the size of flashbangs was all it took to spread throughout the entire compound. I have absolutely no idea what it was." Nikolai said. Tommy and everyone in observation were slightly anxious about this new gas.

"What were the effects of the gas?" Tommy asked. Nikolai's eyes grew wide with fear, but he still managed to answer Tommy.

"The gas...it went into your system...and mere seconds later...you would drop dead, blood pouring out of your ears, eyes, nose, and mouth." Nikolai said slowly. Tommy shook inwardly at the thought, but decided to press onto more important matters.

"D-" Tommy was cut off as Nikolai shook his head madly.

"No, no. I agree to accept any charges you put against me, I plead guilty to all of them. However, you must promise me that all death-penalties will be nullified and that I will be put in a top-security prison where I cannot be killed." Nikolai said. Tommy chuckled as he slammed the table.

"And why would we do that? What could you possibly offer us?" Tommy asked, genuinely amused that Nikolai would go for such a big deal.

"Because I know of a plot that the same gas that was used on my compound is going to be used here, in your nation's capitol. And not in small canisters, but hundreds and hundreds of tanks the size of fire extinguishers. Millions would die, and only I know who plans on doing it, and where he is." Nikolai smirked, knowing he had a deal.

Everyone was horrified by the prospect, and within seconds Jenny was calling every federal agency she could think of, the whole Alphabet Soup. Tommy had his mouth agape as he looked at Nikolai in horror, who was smiling evilly.

"Who, WHO IS GOING TO RELEASE THE GAS!?" Tommy yelled at Nikolai, who had a smug look on his face.

"I will tell you nothing until you can promise me a deal. Now with that said, do we have a deal?" Nikolai asked.

"YES WE HAVE A GODDAMN DEAL, NOW TELL ME WHO HAS THE GAS!" Tommy yelled at Nikolai. Nikolai smiled, but before he could answer, he began choking. Tommy noticed this and immediately went over to try to help him in anyway he could.

"GET EMT'S IN HERE, THIS IS A MATTER OF FUCKING NATIONAL SECURITY!" Tommy screamed. Everyone in observation bolted out to get EMT's in Interrogation Room 1. But it was too late. It was only about 20 seconds from when Nikolai first started choking that he slumped against the chair, blood seeping from his mouth. Now all they had to work off of was that a deadly gas attack was going to be launched on DC, and their only lead as to who it would be had just died in an interrogation room.

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**Oh shit, gas attack on DC, this can't be good. Also their only lead just died in the interrogation room! Shit! **

**Also what's up with Chris? Why's he actin' all suspicious? Hmm...**


	18. Suspicions

**Sorry for the EXTREMELY long update, I know you guys must really hate me right now! Between spending all day yesterday with my girlfriend and her friends, multiple pick-up games of basketball at a local basketball court, going on a long-ass run with my best bud Tyrone, and going to the movies with a bunch of my friends, I haven't really found time to update. **

**I started a new story a few days ago called Aliyah AU, so I've been working on that a bit. But alas, I know you guys have been itching for an update, especially with Nikolai dying and all that, so I decided that I would update this. And I did! :)**

**Please, if you have the time, take those twenty or so seconds to type up a quick review! It always brings a smile to my face to read them! So without further ado, here is the next chapter!**

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The conference room was flooded with FBI, Homeland Security, Department of Defense, NCIS, CIA, and Army CID agents as they discussed the plan of action on the gas.

"NSA satellite imaging confirms the gas attack on Nikolai's compound. We haven't been able to identify the gas yet, but from what we can tell, it is extremely deadly." Gibbs said, drawing nods from the agents.

"The DC area is upping security. The president has been informed, and we are to find and eliminate those directly linked to the attack with extreme prejudice. This will be a joint op with NCIS in the lead. Understood?" Jenny announced. Everyone nodded in understanding before packing up their things and leaving, Fornell sticking behind to talk to Gibbs.

"You said his cause of death was poison, right?" Fornell asked. Gibbs nodded as they walked onto the mezzanine and leaned on the rail, both observing the buzz of activity.

"We could trace the poison and try to track a purchase, no?" Fornell suggested. Gibbs chuckled as he slapped Fornell on the back.

"Already got Abby workin' on it. She said she would have results in about 30 minutes." Gibbs responded. Fornell nodded in understanding as he followed Gibbs down the stairs. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Gibbs's phone rang. Gibbs sighed as he took out his phone and checked the caller ID: Ziva.

"Good morning, Ziva. What's up?" Gibbs asked.

"_Tony and I are very bored and we have nothing to do. Can we come into NCIS to visit?_" Ziva's voice emitted from the phone. Gibbs pondered it for a moment, but decided that no harm could come from a visit.

"Sure, Ziva! Bring Tony with you and I'll have one of my agents show you around." Gibbs responded, head slapping Tommy for snapping a picture of Lisa's butt as she was bending over to pick up a few of the wads of paper Tommy had been throwing at her.

"_Thank you, Gibbs. We should be there in about 20 minutes._" Ziva's voice responded before a click was heard, and the call was ended.

20 minutes later, the elevator doors dinged open, Tony and Ziva strolling in with visitor's badges clipped to the front of their shirts.

"Man, this place sure is bright! Look at that skylight!" Tony exclaimed as they both walked over to a smirking Gibbs. Tommy, Lisa, and McGregor looked up from their desks and did a double take upon seeing Tony again.

"Ziva, Tony." Gibbs said as he hugged Ziva gently and shook Tony's hand, or at least as well as one could when they were leaning on crutches. Gibbs looked at his confused agents for a brief moment.

"I need a cup of coffee. I'm sure you all can introduce yourselves, and then one of you can show em' around." Gibbs said before heading out of the bullpen. Immediately Tommy flashed a bright smile at the two of them and walked over, extending his hand.

"Very Special Agent Tommy DiNardo." Tommy said, shaking Tony's hand in his own.

"Tony DiNozzo..." Tony said awkwardly, noticing the striking similarities between their names. Ziva, Lisa, and McGregor all broke into fits of laughter, all three noticing the similarities between their names, not to mention the fact that they both looked extremely similar. Both Tony and Tommy scowled as Tony shot a glare at Ziva and Tommy shot a glare at Lisa, only causing the three of them to laugh even harder.

"You-you are practically blood related!" Lisa squealed along with Ziva. Both Tony and Tommy turned to each other with the same smug looks on their faces.

"And what about you two? You're both Israeli, same facial features!" Tony shouted in victory. Ziva and Lisa slowly turned to each other, both their jaws open in disbelief. Lisa punched Tommy in the chest while Ziva punched Tony in the arm, both of them yelping in surprise more than actual pain.

"See, look at that! Physical threats the two of them!" Tommy exclaimed, nudging Tony in the arm as he gestured to two fuming Israeli's. Tony laughed as he slapped Tommy playfully on the back. Before their conversation could continue, a bubbly and ecstatic Amy came bursting into the bullpen and pulled Tony and Ziva into a bear hug.

"Can't...breathe..." They both croaked out, amused by the extreme affection.

"Oh, sorry!" Amy exclaimed, jumping up and down as she released them.

"Amy Sutton, Chief Forensic Specialist!" Amy introduced herself, sticking her hand out.

"Tony DiNozzo." Tony replied, giving Amy's hand a firm shake.

"Ziva David." Ziva replied politely, reluctantly shaking Amy's hand. Amy didn't seem to notice as Tommy's phone began to ring, and he jumped up in victory.

"Lunch break! Finally, 4 hours going through cold cases and case reports are finally over!" Tommy shouted, sticking his fist in the air. Lisa playfully jabbed Tommy in the side, causing him to jump in surprise, bumping into Tony who held his ground firmly.

"Not so fast, DiNardo." Gibbs said, strolling into the bullpen with his signature coffee in hand. "Ya gotta show Tony and Ziva around, remember?" Gibbs smirked at Tommy's expression as he put his backpack down. Gibbs went down to check on Ducky for a friendly chat, leaving Tommy with an annoyed expression on his face. Lisa chuckled as she patted Tommy's chest.

"Don't worry, Tommy. I'll be sure to bring you back something. That is, unless I get...distracted." Lisa teased. Tony's eyes widened as he grabbed Lisa by the arm.

"Not so fast, Lisa! I still got that favor you owe me, remember?" Tommy smirked. Lisa sighed heavily as she put her own backpack down, turning to face an amused Tommy. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and put her mouth dangerously close to Tommy's ear.

"You are doing the tour with me, or I'll kill you with a paperclip!" Lisa growled. Tommy gulped in fear as he stumbled back. Lisa turned towards Tony and Ziva with a big smile on her face.

"Shall we?" Lisa asked, gesturing around the bullpen. Tony and Ziva shared an amused glance before nodding their heads, chuckling as Tommy growled something about Mossad and crazy ninja chicks.

One of the agents from the other side of the bullpen spotted Tony and Ziva, and his eyes widened in surprise. The agent played it cool as he strolled into the elevator, all the while his eyes lingering on Tony. He got into the elevator, pressed the emergency stop button, and took out an encrypted cellphone from his pocket. Dialing a secure number over a secure phone line, he waited for a few seconds before someone picked up.

"_Sir, Tony and Ziva are here at NCIS. Should we get an exfiltration for them?_" The agent spoke into the phone. A few moments of dead silence were heard before a grunt was heard.

"_No, it is imperative that your cover be kept intact. Go about your usual day, and I'll let you know when I want them for extraction._" A gruff voice responded before the line went dead. The agent hummed to himself as he got off at the bullpen, flashing a smile to a random agent from Human Resources before returning to his desk.

NCIS

The tour was fairly extensive, lasting around 30 minutes before finally returning back to the bullpen.

"Well that was about everything there is to show!" Tommy announced, sighing happily as he plopped down into his seat, spinning around a couple times. Lisa smirked as he went to her own desk. Oddly enough, both Tony and Tommy's stomachs growled at the same time, and they both turned towards each other, bemused looks on their faces.

"Food." They both uttered simultaneously, already heading towards the elevator doors. Ziva and Lisa laughed as they followed them to the elevator. Once inside, Tony and Tommy started shooting idea's off of each other.

"Five Guys." Tony suggested. Tommy shook his head.

"Silverado." Tommy suggested, earning an almost identical head shake from Tony. Both of them widened their eyes as the perfect idea for lunch occurred to them.

"Chipotle!" They both shouted in glee. Ziva and Lisa chuckled as they nodded their heads in agreement. They stepped off the elevator and got into their cars as they all headed for the Chipotle about five blocks away.

They were all seated at a table, eating burrito bowls as they enjoyed light conversation.

"So, how long have you two been working at NCIS?" Tony asked. Tommy and Lisa shared a meaningful glance before Tommy responded.

"12 years so far. Lisa's been here for 8 years, coworkers the whole way." Tommy said, sharing a deep look with Lisa, not going unnoticed by Tony nor Ziva. Tony grinned as he leaned in to whisper in Ziva's ear.

"Do you think they're dating? They seem to act like they are." Tony whispered, earning a chuckle from Ziva.

"I do not know, you should ask them." Ziva replied, pecking Tony on the cheek. Tommy and Lisa both raised their eyebrows.

"Wait, are you two dating?" Lisa asked. Tony and Ziva both nodded as Tony wrapped his arm around Ziva's shoulder. Ziva smiled as she leaned into Tony's body.

"Aww, that is sweet. You two certainly look like a happy couple." Lisa commented, earning a chuckle from Tommy and an amused look from Tony.

"Are you two dating? You both certainly act like you do." Tony asked. Tommy and Lisa both widened their eyes in panic, their jaws agape as they stumbled over their own words to answer.

"N-no, against rules." Tommy stammered.

"Definitely not." Lisa said, her mouth still moving but no words coming out. Tony and Ziva both raised an eyebrow, but decided not to comment on it as Tony fed Ziva some of his burrito.

When the four of them got back to the bullpen, they were surprised to see a random agent looking through Tommy's desk.

"What the hell are you doing?" Tommy asked, annoyed that some random ass agent was at his desk. The agent looked up in surprise as he held up a file.

"Sorry Agent DiNardo. I tried to put this file on your desk, but it fell to the ground. I went over to pick it up and couldn't help but look at the various things at your desk. Won't happen again." The agent said before scurrying off.

"Strange." Tommy commented as he plopped back down onto his chair to read what the file was. _Expense Report for Special Agent Tommy DiNardo: 2004.  
_

Tommy's gut churned as he simply stared at the expense report. _Something isn't right here. I know for a fact that I left that report under my desk because I never bothered to pick it up. Something's fishy about that agent, and I'm gonna find out what._

"Lisa, come with me, we have to talk to Gibbs, this is important." Tommy said, standing up from his desk as he headed to Autopsy with Lisa in tow. When they got to Autopsy, Ducky was regaling Gibbs with a story about when he met the Queen of England.

"Boss, there's something you need to know." Tony said as he walked up to Gibbs.

"What's going on, DiNardo?" Gibbs inquired, taking a sip from his coffee. Tommy silently handed Gibbs his expense report. Gibbs looked at it for a second before smacking the back of Tommy's head.

"We're in the middle of a high-priority investigation. Now's not the time to talk to me about a faulty expense report." Gibbs berated Tommy.

"I'm not worried about a damn expense report, Boss! When we got back from lunch, some random ass agent I've never seen before was snooping around my desk. As soon as I asked him what he was doing, he made some lame ass excuse that he put a file, this file, on my desk. He said it fell and on the way to picking it back up, he couldn't resist the urge to snoop around my desk. Boss, this expense report was under my desk, it always has been! Something isn't right with him!" Tommy exclaimed.

Gibbs, Lisa, and Ducky all thought about the situation, all coming to the conclusion that something was off about him.

"Boss, think about it, doesn't it seem a little strange? We come across a high profile case and a few hours later a random agent none of us really know gets caught snooping around my desk, an agent that is working the case, and then he lies as to why he was snooping around? Somethings not right about him, he's suspicious!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Yes, I must agree with you, Tommy. Something is definitely suspicious about that agent. Suggestions, Jethro?" Ducky asked. Gibbs rubbed his hand over his face, exhaling as he thought about what to do.

"We bring him into interrogation and question his ass until he cracks or we're convinced that it was a coincidence." Gibbs declared. Gibbs was about to take a step towards the doors of Autopsy when the doors clicked, signaling that they were locked. Everyone looked around to see the very same agent they were just discussing with his service weapon pointed at them.

"I don't think so, Agent Gibbs." the agent said as he pulled back the hammer of his Sig Sauer, readying it to fire. Lisa reached for her knife in the waistband, but stopped when the agent took a few steps towards Tommy, aiming it right at his head.

"Ah ah ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Any of you do so much as take a single step towards me or go for a weapon, and Agent DiNardo gets a bullet through his brain." The agent said evilly.

* * *

**Oh no! Cliffhanger!**

**Anyways, how did you guys like Tuesday's episode? I thought it was really good in my opinion, especially the part where Ilan died. To be honest I expected him to die in the last episode, but I guess CBS has different plans for our favorite team of federal agents, or at least my favorite team of federal agents.**

**Also, did you see that promo for next Tuesday's episode!? Man! I love the part where the DOD Investigator was in the interrogation room with Ziva and asks her if the slept with...somebody...probably Tony. And then right after Tony bursts through the door angrily, practically shouting at him that the interview was over :0**

**Also that last part where the DOD investigator suggests that he isn't going after Ziva, but another agent...hmm...**

**Anyway, hope you liked this chapter, and farewell!**


	19. Whack-A-Mole

**Hey guys and girls, long time no see, right? Heh, oops, sorry about that. Anyways lets talk about the most recent NCIS episode! Man, did you see how hurt Tony was when Ziva told him she slept with Adam because she felt alone, when Tony had told her in Hebrew that she wasn't? And the whole silent treatment thing? Man, that was good! Can't wait for the next episode where they expand on that.**

**And for those of you that think Cote de Pablo isn't returning for Season 11, keep this in mind: Cote de Pablo has been on the show for about 8 years now I think, and her character as Ziva David as pretty much become one of the driving forces in the show, coupled with all those Tiva fans. Because lets face it: A lot of us can't wait to see the next NCIS episode not because of some random case, but because we wanna see more Tiva! Or just see the ending to some kind of cliffhanger. And I think it was her last contract that she took an EXTREMELY long time to get renewed, and I think she's just taking a long time to spice up the season and keep us all on edge, because admit it: At least half of you reading this right now are worried that Cote de Pablo might not return for Season 11.**

**I personally don't think she would actually do that, because starting Season 11, a lot of plot holes would be left if she were to just leave the show entirely, not to mention the unresolved tension between Tony and Ziva, and how after 8 years of building it up, it just stops with her leaving? Anyways, that's just me ranting, don't forget to favorite and REVIEW! :)**

* * *

"Now get in the corner!" The agent growled, pointing the barrel of the pistol towards a far corner of Autopsy away from the doors. They all glared at him but reluctantly moved into the corner.

"So, now that we know you're a mole of some sort, what's your game-plan? Play horizontal pogo-stick with me? Because I can assure you I'm as straight as they come." Tommy snickered, trying to focus the agent's attention on him. The agent growled angrily as he pistol-whipped Tommy across the head, sending him straight to the ground.

"Tommy!" Lisa shouted in fear as she knelt down beside Tommy, the slight trickle of blood seeping out of his head doing nothing to calm her.

"You bastard!" Lisa shrieked, her emotions running high as unshed tears glistened her eyes. The agent snickered at the worried look on Lisa's face. _Too bad I got my cover blown so soon. I surely would have won that office pool bet that Lisa had feelings for Agent Tommy. Shame._

Tommy groaned in pain as his eyes flickered open, being met by Lisa's deep dark-chocolate eyes. The entire world was blurry for Tommy as he raised a shaky hand to Lisa's face, cupping her left cheek.

"Don't...worry..." Tommy groaned, shooting Lisa a slight DiNozzo Grin. Lisa couldn't help but chuckle a bit at Tommy's need to make a joke out of everything and always see the glass half-full, because that was just who he was.

"Get up." The agent barked, pointing his gun at Tommy. Tommy tried to sit up, but the combined feeling of pain in the back of his head, nausea, and blurriness sent him collapsing straight back to the floor. "GET UP!" The agent shouted, kicking Tommy in the side, causing him to cry out in pain.

"STOP! He's hurt! Give him time!" Lisa shrieked, the only thing stopping her from jumping on top of him right that instant and snapping his neck was the gun in his hand, and even that reason was wearing thin. Gibbs and Lisa both bent down and wrapped each of Tommy's arms around their necks, then slowly rising to their feet, supporting Tommy's weight as he stood on shaky legs, swerving this way and that.

"Now, one of you are going to call Tony and tell him to bring Ziva down here, and you will NOT alert him of the situation, or you all die. Is that understood!?" The agent shouted, his gun not wavering in the slightest as it was fixed straight at Tommy's head, right between his eyes.

"So, that's what this is all about, isn't that right? This is your endgame? Kidnap Tony and Ziva? Because I assure you if that is your intention, then I can only beg to differ!" Ducky shouted, his face beat red from anger, his hands clenching and un-clenching themselves. The agent chuckled evilly as he walked over to one of the Autopsy tables and picked up a scalpel, his gun pointed at Tommy the entire time.

"Oh Doctor, I too beg to differ. You see, my boss is a very...powerful man, and he does not take well to failure. That being said, I too feel the same way and when I set myself to completing a task, I always, ALWAYS, get results." The agent said, slowly taking steps towards Tommy like a lion on the hunt, stalking its prey, and at the right moment, pounces. "Now you see, here's where you're wrong. You will call Tony and tell him to bring Ziva down with him, or Tommy here suffers the consequences." The agent said, making a slicing motion with the scalpel as he moved closer towards Tommy.

"Over my dead body!" Gibbs growled, unconsciously shifting Tommy's arm so he stood slightly in front of Tommy. The agent got a wicked gleam in his eyes as he redirected the pistol's line of fire at Gibbs.

"That can be arranged." The agent said.

"NO!" Tommy shouted as loud as he could, causing the agent to lower his weapon and look at Tommy, a questioning expression on his face. "No? Would you prefer I shoot the beautiful Agent Lisa instead!?" The agent shouted, pointing his gun at Lisa. Despite the fact that her heart was pounding in fear, she would force herself to keep a calm exterior, and stand proud in the face of death, because if that's what needed to be done to save them, that's what she would do.

"No...that's not what I meant...at all..." Tommy croaked, causing the agent to smile wickedly, lowering his sidearm once again.

"Is that so? Well then, Agent Tommy, would you care to enlighten me?" The agent asked mockingly. Tommy gave a slight grin as he looked straight at the agent.

"None of us are going to contact Tony and tell him to come down here with Ziva. And you aren't going to harm anyone here, except me." Tommy said confidently, causing Lisa to have a sharp intake of breath, her eyes wide as she looked at Tommy in alarm.

"No, Tommy! No, you will do no such thing!" Lisa shouted at Tommy, tightening her grip on Tommy as if it would keep him safe from all the harms in the world, or at least the pistol in the agent's hand.

"Aww, isn't that sweet? The courageous male giving himself up to protect others, and his princess refusing to let anything to happen to him? Heh, sounds like it could make good TV. Unfortunately, this is reality, and in reality, not every love story has a happy ending." The agent growled as he unexpectedly ripped Tommy right from Lisa and Gibbs's grasps, putting the scalpel right under his neck and forcing Tommy on his knees.

"You will contact Tony, and you will tell him to bring Ziva with him down here. And you WILL not alert them, or Agent Tommy here gets a nice gash right across his neck. I'm done playing games! You have 30 seconds to comply, and if Tony isn't contacted by then, he die-" The agent was cut off as he felt a kick slam into his right side, causing him to drop the scalpel and gun as he fell to the side, releasing Tommy from his grasp.

Ziva placed another kick straight to the agent's face, knocking him out cold. Gibbs and Lisa immediately rushed over to the agent and handcuffed him, tightening the cuffs as tightly as they would go. Tommy could only smile as Ducky rushed over to him and started to his head wound. Tony smiled at the sight as Gibbs literally dragged the agent out of autopsy and into the elevator, where he would be brought straight into interrogation.

Lisa walked to Ziva and immediately embraced her in a tight hug, one Ziva gladly reciprocated. Tony grinned as he took out his phone and snapped a quick picture of the moment, deciding that this was one of those memories he would always treasure.

"Thank you, Ziva. Thank you...so much!" Lisa whispered in Ziva's ear, tears streaming down her face.

"I did this on my own free choice, and I would never hesitate to make the same choice." Ziva responded, taking her shirt and dabbing Lisa's face. Tony smiled as he hobbled back over to the elevator, getting in with Gibbs and the handcuffed and unconscious agent.

"So, how did Ziva know that we were in trouble?" Gibbs asked, smiling as the elevator rose up.

"It was her Mossad spidey-senses. I don't know how she does it, call it a gut feeling." Tony smiled as he delivered one of his own kicks in the agent's side. Gibbs chuckled as he too kicked the agent rather forcefully in the side.

"Time to bring his sorry ass into interrogation and keep at him until he's crying for his boss." Gibbs said as the elevator doors opened.

NCIS

"WHAT WAS YOUR MISSION!?" Gibbs shouted at the agent, who at the moment was quavering in fear. Gibbs had been interrogating the agent for an hour straight, and still the agent hadn't cracked, but he was close, very close. Jenny, Tommy, Lisa, Tony, Ziva, and Ducky stood in the observation room watching in amusement as they watched Gibbs punch the agent right across the face.

"Hey! You're not allowed to hit me!" The agent screamed in protest, sounding more like a 5 year-old girl as Gibbs punched him again.

"Sue me." Gibbs said as he punched the agent across the face again. Gibbs picked up his chair and made an animalistic growl as he raised the chair.

"STOP! STOP! STOP!" The agent screamed, tears running down his face as he braced himself for the impact, his eyes shut tightly. Gibbs smiled in victory as he calmly lowered the chair and resumed his place across the agent.

"Are you ready to talk?" Gibbs asked, the tone of his voice promising more pain if he said no. The agent nodded his head furiously.

"My-my mission was simple. Keep an eye on the investigation regarding the gas attack, and report all your findings straight to my boss. I would call him via encrypted phone if I discovered anything, and report it to him. As long as I kept a steady flow of information going to him, I got paid. Five grand for every piece of valuable info." The agent said nervously.

"Who was this boss of yours?" Gibbs asked, his fists clenched tightly at the thought of having had a mole at NCIS. The agent was sweating furiously as he blinked several times, his lips moving but unable to form words.

"WHO WAS YOUR BOSS!?" Gibbs shouted as he stood up abruptly, grabbing his chair and raising it once again.

"I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T KNOW HIS NAME, NO ONE DOES!" The agent screamed. Gibbs once again put the chair down and resumed his place across from the agent.

"What do you mean, 'No one does'?" Gibbs inquired.

"He-he has moles everywhere. In police departments, in Homeland Security, hell, he even has moles in the CIA! I only know this because I overheard him talking to several contacts over the phone. But I don't know who his contacts are. The only thing we share in common is having the same employer, but none of us know who the other moles are!" The agent shouted.

Gibbs ran a hand over his face as he exhaled. _Shit...whoever this guy's employer must be the guy behind the potential gas attack. Moles in police departments? Moles in Homeland? Moles in the goddamn CIA!? CIA. Lisa's boyfriend Ray Cruz is in the CIA. Maybe I ought to contact him, or have Lisa contact him. He can get started on snooping around, looking for anything fishy.  
_

"Why were you trying to kidnap Tony and Ziva?" Gibbs asked, trying to see where they fit in the equation.

"My boss, he said that if at anytime Tony showed up, to report it to him. I saw them earlier today and contacted him, and he told me to keep my cover intact, and if my cover was blown at anytime or when he gave the order, I was to kidnap Tony and Ziva and bring them to him." The agent replied honestly.

"Why? What did your boss want with Tony and Ziva?" Gibbs asked, the situation looking worse by the minute.

"I don't know, he never gave me a reason why. Only that it was top priority that Tony be brought back alive. Ziva was completely optional, but the main prize was Tony." The agent responded. Then Gibbs had an idea.

"Assuming that you were able to kidnap Tony, where were you supposed to meet him?" Gibbs inquired.

"If I was able to kidnap Tony, my orders were to contact him via encrypted phone and let him know. From there, he would arrange a drop-off location, and I was to head over right away." The agent replied. _If I can get this guy to call his boss and tell him that he has Tony and Ziva in custody, we can get the drop-off location and scramble a team there, where we could take him down and end this once and for all._

"Tell me, do you want to live the rest of your life in a prison cell in Gitmo?" Gibbs asked. The agent's eyes shot wide-open as he stared at Gibbs in disbelief.

"No-no you can't do that! I have enemies in Gitmo that would tear me to shreds if they got their hands on me! No, I won't go, I won't go!" The agent shrieked, furiously trying to break free of his many restraints. Gibbs pulled out the encrypted phone they found on the agent and placed it on the table.

"You're going to call your employer and tell him that your cover was blown, and that you successfully kidnapped Tony and Ziva. Understood?" Gibbs said aggressively. The agent nodded his head vigorously. Gibbs dialed the only number on his phone and put it on speaker.

"_Status report._" A scrambled voice emitted from the phone, making voice identification completely impossible.

"Sir, my cover was blown. I managed to kidnap Tony and Ziva. They're in the car with me right now. Where should I drop them off?" The agent asked, earning a thumbs-up from Gibbs. The line was silent for a few seconds.

"_Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, is that correct?_" The voice responded. _Dammit! How the hell did he know!?_ Seeing no point to continue the charade, Gibbs leaned into the phone and let himself be known.

"Yes, this is Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Who might I ask is this?" Gibbs inquired.

"_Wouldn't you like to know. __Anyway first of all I know what my NCIS mole told you was a load of bullshit, so we can just pretend that never happened. You take me for a fool, when in reality I am not a man to be underestimated. Don't even bother with a cell-phone trace either, it would be fruitless. Anyways, I just want to let you know that trying to prevent the gas attack on DC is pointless, so you can save your own ass by getting the fuck out of Dodge. Of course, that would probably be pointless, since I plan to release the gas on the entire country._" The voice responded. Gibbs's heart was pounding furiously in his chest. _Shit, the entire country!?_

"So, what's your plan of action? What do you want? Money? Fame?" Gibbs asked. The line went silent for several seconds.

"_Revenge._" The voice responded before the line went dead.


	20. Another Author's Note

**Ok I know probably the vast majority of you are more than a little pissed that I haven't updated this in...wow weeks...**

**I just kinda got bored with this story and decided to take a BREAK, not just gonna drop this story, know a lot of you want to see an ending to this story. Just that last chapter didn't get that many views (only like 230 compared to an average 1,000 or something like that) and that just kinda discouraged me. I know I kinda sound bratty or something atm, just kinda got me down a bit about the story and I decided to try writing other stories for a bit. Just an update in case any of you were scared I would never finish this off and go on 'hiatus' (and in pretty much every story I've read with that in the description, just straight up got abandoned altogether).**

**Well, hope this gave you some comfort, and expect an update anywhere between this week and, well, next week.**


	21. AN: Leaving

**Sorry I haven't updated in so long, but I don't have the time anymore. I just got engaged to my girlfriend, and we just found out that she's pregnant 3**

**Between making arrangements for the marriage, taking care of her, and learning to be a Dad, I simply will not have the time to update anymore. I do hope that one day these stories will be finished, which is why I am offering my account to anyone that will finish my stories. **


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